Slayers Forth
by Ivan Inverse
Summary: Lina Inverse's actions may have unintentionally doomed the world. The legacy of the famed sorceress herself is the most sought after artifact in the world: by humans for its power, by Mazoku for its destruction. People die, but legends transcend time...
1. Prologue: Creation and Destruction

Hello out there! **Ivan Inverse** here. This, unfortunately, is a requisite to posting stories up here. You see, I have had the misfortune of getting my story deleted because I forgot to clarify that the original author and myself are one and the same! Besides that, I forgot to mention that _The Slayers_ franchise does not belong to me (sadly. I envy the creators... anyway).

A few warnings before I go on with this story.

This is a story of the Slayers' descendants. It has been in the process of being written for the past three years because of setbacks and the trouble of trying to make everything fit within the canon of the original story. If some elements seem unfamiliar (like the mention of Luke in the prologue), it is because I am working off of the original novel canon. The story, despite still being silly and light-hearted at some points, is much darker, and it is from there that I draw my inspiration for this fanfic.

I was not involved with the creation of _Slayers_, nor was I involved in the creation of its world or its colorful cast. All the characters and the original story belong to _Hajime Kanzaka_ (the author of the wonderful original novels and the creator of the whole thing), _Rui Araizumi_ (the guy who created the unique look of the Slayers group, the main artist), _TV Tokyo / SOFTX_ (the group that animated the TV series and originally aired it in Japan), Kadokawa Shoten (the company that published the novel in Japan and sold the translation license to _TokyoPop_ in the U.S.), _Marubeni_ (some people who I reckon had a hand in the creation, for it was on the DVD's box), _A.D. Vision Intl_. (world famous anime connoisseurs, publishers and localizers of the _Slayers_ movies), and _Software Sculptors_ (the people who brought the whole TV series over to the U.S. in the first place), blah blah blah blah BLAH. Now I'm sure you're tired of reading this legal crap, so on with the story!

* * *

This life of ours is not freely given to us. Everything is a part of the One, and so to it all must return. Yet there are those who continue to fight against their reassimilation into this infinite, perfect Darkness. There has been no will with greater luster than that of the sorceress Lina Inverse, the Demon Slayer. Before she even turned twenty, she had saved the world thrice from destruction, and she had changed countless lives. After she and her swordsman partner, Gourry, the Swordsman of Light, destroyed Luke, the Third Risen Seventh of Ruby-Eye, Lina retreated with Gourry to her home country of Zefielia. Following an interlude, she moved south into the Elmekia Empire with Gourry and they wed. They had a family, and life was good to them if only for a short while. As time wore on, it became evident that something Lina did during her adventures had caused her great harm. In her thirties, she mysteriously began to become enfeebled at an alarming pace. Knowing that her time wasn't long in coming, Lina Inverse wrote down the tales and lessons from her travels as a younger woman and left them to her posterity.

Upon Lina Inverse's passing as Lina Gabriev, the Sorcerer's Guild mounted an aggressive campaign to obtain her research -- by any means necessary. But the thieves, assassins, mages and collectors that were sent to obtain the Grimoire Inverse, as it was called, all found failure at the blade of Gourry Gabriev and the Blast Sword, to which all magic was nothing. When the Guild ultimately failed in procuring the Grimoire Inverse, the names of Lina and Gourry Gabriev were cast forever into the bin of historical villains, the saviors ironically branded as destroyers. Because of the chaos visited upon Elmekia by Gourry's presence, he bid his family farewell and entrusted the care of his sons and daughters to Luna Inverse, the sister of Lina Inverse, in Zefielia. Nobody knows what happened to him afterwards... except the scions of Saillune.

Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune subsidized exploration of the New World once the barrier had dropped in an effort to continue her father's quest for justice across borders, since at that time he was finally coronated and no longer had the time to cavort across the Continent. But she returned home after only three short years once the kingdom decided that Amelia should look into taking a suitor for her husband. During that time, Amelia was accosted from the palace with a dire warning: _"They are after you."_ The abductor was none other than a now-human Zelgadiss Graywords. But with ridding himself of his curse, he had also beridden himself of his gifts; he was now only an average spellcaster and a swordsman with more skill than force. No longer was he Zelgadiss the Berserker. Together, the ex-chimera and runaway princess hid until the enemy elements within Saillune's Royal Council became evident, and were destroyed. The _"they"_ that Zelgadiss spoke of were never discovered.

The battle was costly, though, and King Philionel did not survive the ordeal. Knowing what needed to be done, Amelia ascended the throne. When Zelgadiss finally got up the will to profess his true feelings for Amelia, though, it was too late. She was married to another nobleman, and with child. Distraught and once again embittered by his powerlessness, this time powerlessness of the heart, Zelgadiss disappeared from history's stage a broken man. Amelia was never the same woman again.

Ten years into Amelia's reign, the sister that she had never gotten to know, Gracia ul Naga Saillune, returned out of nowhere declaring that she had a mission. Her stay would not be long; only enough time to mourn her father properly and entrust two articles to the Great Kingdom of White Magic: _a tattered book of indecipherable script and the Blast Sword._ Amelia had the artifacts sealed indefinitely in the chambers of Saillune's palace. There is a legend about that day; it is said that when Amelia asked her sister to remain in Saillune, Gracia let out a bone-chilling laugh which cracked the stained windows to their frames. As far as history knows, Gracia remained in the kingdom as Amelia's emissary and bodyguard. In spite of her great sorcery, Gracia's laugh was forever considered the deadliest weapon against would-be assassins and usurpers.

Years turned into decades, and those into centuries. The Continent flowered in prosperity during the Advent of Science and Exploration. The Mazoku were all but forgotten, and the dragons of Kataart became reclusive and hostile to visitors. But Lina Inverse was never a person easily forgotten... or easily defeated, even in death.


	2. Chapter I: When Brains and Brawn Meet

Nighttime.

The stars were bright, but the moon was brighter still, illuminating the sparkling ocean's surface and giving the cloud-spotted sky the hue of a midnight blue. A lone ship rocked quietly on the water's surface, banking right then left with the same hypnotic rhythm as ever. The brightness of a fire and the shouts and hollers of the onboard sailors could be heard, accompanied by chipper music and drunken singing. Waves crashed upon the shoreline cliffs not far from where the ship was anchored as the clouds removed themselves from the moon's bold blue face. A figure stood upon that cliff.

Her mantle fluttered flamboyantly behind her with each whoosh of the sea's salty winds. Her shimmering gaze seemed to rest on the ocean's inky expanse. More accurately, her gaze seemed to rest on the ship that resounded with celebrations. Lowering her hands from her hips to their respective sides, she took a small step forward. A few pebbles dropped from the cliff's end, eventually splashing into the surf below. A group of clouds moved over the moon again, and our lovely heroine took a leap of faith off the cliff, off into the shadows that the envious clouds cast with their obscuration of the moon's glow.

A large wave hit the ship and rocked it violently; the sailors ceased their jubilation. The shouts of gaiety and merrymaking were replaced by shouts of inebriated panic; the captain took command and barked orders like the sea dog he was. A few men climbed up each mast of the ship, that of which there were three — masts, not ships. Once the three men reached the tops of the masts and clambered into the crow's nests, one of them shouted out: "No storm, cap'n!"

The captain ruffled his thick, black beard as he bit into the pipe in his mouth. Smoke curled around his head and he muttered.

"Argh... might it be a sea serpent?"

An explosion occurred near the stern of the ship. A charred sailor landed in front of the startled captain and stood up with the stability of a house of cards in an earthquake. The captain looked on, rather surprised.

"EhHh... wE're UndEr aTtACk... cap—" the deckhand blubbered before he passed out. The captain inhaled and barked to the crew on deck.

"RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!"

The crew gave a resounding "Aye-aye, cap'n!"

A black flag with skull and crossbones went up to the top of the mainmast.

"Man the cannons, damn the torpedoes! Lookout, where be the enemy vessel!" the captain demanded of the harried members, looking out for the attackers, each fearing that he would become the next piece of overcooked shark feed.

The one on the crow's nest seemed to be sweating, his voice heavy with anxiety. "Cap'n, sir?" he addressed in a fearfully certain voice, "There—there isn't an enemy vessel..."

The captain's voice cracked. "That'd be impossible, Mr. Rogers! There MUST be an enemy vessel! Now do yer job proper, ya' limey bilge rat, an' FIND IT! M' grand mama could spot better than ya's!"

The clouds moved from the moon's part of the heavens, and the ship became clearly visible... their ship. There truly wasn't an enemy vessel.

"Hey... who's that?"

The captain blinked. "'Who's that?' Whaddya mean? What kind of trick are ye tryin' ta' play on me, boy!"

The watchman answered. "Some flat-chested wench in a fruity getup, 'pon the mizzen!"

_Flat-chested? How DARE he make such brazen comments about my figure!_

"You'll regret that comment, _Mr. Rogers_," growled the narrator in a low voice, in no uncertain terms. Thaaat... would be me, obviously. Who else? The captain?

I huffed out a quick chant and flung the resulting ball of light at the main mast's pinnacle. The captain below dove for cover as the fireball exploded, showering the deck in the _red-hot flames of my anger!_ (That wasn't too dramatic, right? Anyway...)

Such was just desserts for anyone that crossed the beautiful sorceress supreme! (Oh yeah... That's me, by the way. What! I _am_ beautiful, and I _am_ supreme at what I do! Anyway...) The fireball did its job perfectly. (All things granted, its job is to burn and burn good, hence the 'perfectness' of its duty done.) Down came the main mast, crashing like a big old tree! It did nothing but fuel the little bonfire I had going on-deck. _Now if only I had some marshmallows._

I looked down off of the rear mast, which I descended onto after hitting the ship with that large wave to cause the confusion I needed to board unseen. Well, well. It looked like Captain Krunj had managed to get up and away from the flames in time. Here I smiled wickedly. About now, the crew members were scampering around and dropping their lifeboats. You know, to save their lives and stuff...

Embers danced about the night air, a few of them landing on the sails which were curled up on the cross-mast. Those soon went up in flames as the abandon ship continued with impunity. I kept my smile and floated down to where Krunj was with angelic grace. He got up and backed himself as far as he could from me: about three feet. He looked uncharacteristically frightened for someone that pillaged and murdered all along the coast with a reputedly undaunted ferocity. I guess all that fire behind me _did_ make me appear more than a little scary. I grinned impishly, though I like to imagine that he saw it as something more sinister, and stooped close to him.

"Aww, what's the matter? I thought you were the toughest buccaneer to sail the Demon Sea," said I to the poor wittle pirate king.

He stuttered and his breaths came to and from in broken arrangements. I backed away slightly; the breath that scurvy grants its owner is second only to what it's like when it's combined with regular consumption of salt-water grog.

"I-I-I—gulp—I a-am, lit-little girl! Ar-argh!"

I stood back and smiled again. "Then I suppose you won't mind me killing you. It'll only make me more popular, especially for all the trouble you've caused around here!"

The captain perked and scrambled in a last ditch effort to save his skin. I let him while I laughed a little, just before starting the chanting to another incantation.

"Ya' limey bilge rats! Help me ouuuuuut!" He shouted again in desperation.

_Too late, brave capitan!_

"Fireball!" Wash, rinse, repeat—KABOOM.

_Ah. That never gets old._

He got toasted by my fireball and fell into the sea, probably fish food the moment he splashed down. Thus did a great sorceress bring about the grisly end of Captain Krunj. I must admit, though—in retrospect, the way that his crew turned a deaf ear to his pleas WAS kind of sad, I guess. No honor among thieves, eh?

I turned around and cringed at the flames. I didn't want this ship to go down, not with all the treasure it probably had in the holds. I snapped my fingers and pointed to the sky over me.

"_Aqua Create!_"

Like magic (Yeah, I'm good, eh?), a wave of water splashed down and doused the conflagration quickly. I clasped my hands together, for I was now very happy.

"All mine!" I chirped. Now that the flames of my wrath were quelled, it was time to get to business.

What business? You'll see.

As planned, I went down into the holds through the captain's quarters. He seemed to live the good life... you know, for a pirate. Even though he had greasy black hair, a dirty black beard, tacky taste in clothes and breath that not even a zombie would kiss him with, he had every sort of creature comfort one could ask for. All this stuff would sell high on the free market, but it was way more than I could carry off the ship. _I'll come back for the select pieces later,_ I thought to myself. As for the moment, my main plunder was in the holds!

Plunder? Yeah. I kill and rob thieves. Ironic, eh? But I figure it's only fair since what goes around comes around. I'm just speeding up the cycle, since what goes around sometimes can take ages to come around... again. You know.

"_Lighting__!_"

My palm heated up, per usual, and a ball of light formed in my hands. No, it doesn't explode this ti—ah, jeez! I could've been blinded!

"Whoa, look at all the gold... how did the ship not sink?" I wondered aloud. Despite being in awe of myself, I grinned inwardly as I went about picking out my share of the goods. My policy when there was too much to carry was 'take what looked most valuable.' This stuff was _much_ too good for those lowlifes. Among the piles of precious metals I found two orihalcon statues, which was the nicest find I'd had in a while. They were shaped like dragons, perhaps a likeness of the Flare Dragon himself, and seemed to be bookends. Though probably ten times more valuable a couple hundred years ago, these would fetch me an especially good price.

The pirates had lots and lots of gems, so I just took a couple sackfuls to relieve their burdensome weight from this poor ship (which I now contemplated stealing for myself as well). Apparently, the plunderers didn't care about what they took as long as they took it — many of the gems were cracked or otherwise flawed in some way. I knew a way I could put these flawed stones to use but I couldn't do it here. No, it would be too risky. The damage I did wasn't isolated to the deck alone, what with that wave stunt and all. This clunker could go down if it lost its remaining constitution all of a sudden.

At the time it looked like I was loaded down for the night. I, _the mighty Rina Erris_, have done it again! Getting off of this ship would be a piece of cake and finding a place to stay would be even easier since money talks. Loudly.

"Hey! What's going on up there!"

_Huh? I didn't mean it literally!_

"Hello? Somebody let me out! Please?"

Oh... Apparently, I missed someone. Wouldn't it be rude of me if I didn't help him out? Of course it would be! So, with a smile, I blew down the door.

"_Diem_ _Wing!_"

The door's frame splintered under the force of the wind spell, and what did I see?

Well, this boat must've also been a fishing boat because _he_ was quite a catch! The ball of light that resulted from my lighting spell earlier was following me, so I could see him clearly. He certainly wasn't a pirate; he was too good-looking. Now in the books and stories of my youth, you have two kinds of pirates: the dashing, gallant (and handsome) swashbucklers who fight an evil empire from outside the bounds of the law, and then you have your evil, bloodthirsty, headhunting marauders (who don't look too good in general, really) that terrorize everyone. While this ship's crew didn't particularly fall into the second or first category, it was certainly caught in-between the two. That's mediocrity for ya. So, I assumed that this guy couldn't possibly be one of the pirates. His looks were grade A _excellent_.

Well, they were for a prisoner like it seemed he was. Right now, all he wore was a red tunic and black trousers, a classic combination to be sure. His unbuckled leather boots were down on the floor beside him, and his great platinum mane looked as if he was asleep (bed head, you know). I started to wonder what was up with him since all he did was stare at me for a little while. Wait, I know! He was struck by my beauty! Surely he didn't expect a zinger like me to show up at his doorstep, not with the inhospitable crew he had become familiar with! I nodded to myself in satisfaction, closing my eyes in _complete_ understanding.

_Yes, yes. Even I amaze me, too._

His hands were in chains and irons bound to the wall, so I walked over and helped him out of those with my handy-dandy lockpick. Oh, don't look at me like that! You never know if you'll lock your inn room door and lose the key somewhere while you're out!

"Hm?" he answered to my gestures, a look of confusion on his face. He stood to his feet, taller than me by about... a head? A head and a half? Yeah, he was pretty tall. Over six feet, I'm sure. Not long thereafter, he came out with a question. It wasn't quite the one I was hoping for, though.

"What are you doing on a pirate ship, little girl?" I facefaulted in his wake, almost falling over as I felt my knees go weak after that... _comment_.

_"LITTLE GIRL?"_ I snarled in my thoughts.

Outwardly, I was more composed. I raised a brow and gave him an annoyed look. "Little girl?" I repeated with a clueless sort of courtesy.

He nodded and looked side to side as he approached me.

"It's dangerous around here!"

_Nice. I like his style of observation. Maybe that's how the genius found out that he was locked up._

He was starting to annoy me even more, and we'd only known each other for... less than a minute.

"Wha—?"

He had already rushed by me, boots and all on and buckled.

_Jeez... he's fast._

Out of impulse, I found myself shrieking.

"Um... what are you doing!"

The jerk was picking me up already!

"I'm gonna take you out of here, little girl. Don't be afraid now..." he told me in a tone that dripped with saccharine patronization.

_Yeah, I'm sure you mean well, but..._

"Put me down! I can take care of myself, you dolt!" I yelled at him.

He just sort of blinked, and then he put me down. At least he got the point the first time. But before I can say anything to help my case, he started his well-meaning heroic talk again.

"Shh! They'll hear you..."

He sneaked across the hallway and up to the captain's quarters.

_Uhh... right. Maybe I should tell him that I caused all the pirates to jump ship..._

"Um, hey guy... Maybe I should tell you that—"

He interrupted me. Again. As you can imagine, all these acts of condescending... all these interruptions... the allusion that _I am a kid_... They started to grate on me. No, not grate. GNASH. TEAR. RUB ME RAW. It was a good thing for him that I have such excellent self-control.

He seemed to be in a world of his own. "The captain's right up here—" he said. Now I would interrupt his message!

"Hey—"

But to no avail. He interrupted me again.

"I'll distract him and you can steal one of the lifeboats on the ship—"

I narrowed my eyes and burst: "CAN IT, YOU DOPE!"

He looked at me with a deeply confused expression. I only scowled.

"Everyone on this ship has left! Got it? There was a fire and they all jumped off!"

My buddy scratched his temple and looked across to me, his green eyes straining at something.

He suddenly lunged at me. Out of nowhere, I tell you. Sometimes I question the magnetism of my looks and personality. It really can be a deadly combination. Instinctively, I shuffled off to the right so that he missed me. I only heard a couple of thuds before I turned around. To my shock and relief, pretty boy had just floored two guys (that I somehow missed) in one hit.

My friend here got up and dusted his tunic. "Phew. That was pretty close there, little miss. Maybe I should keep you safe until you get home to your mommy and daddy."

I could feel my eye twitch.

_Mommy? Daddy? Does he have any idea where I live?_

Well... obviously not. Now I had to thank him; it was only common courtesy and it's the way I was raised. Manners are an important thing in my family. I had to suppress my frustrations at him a little bit, though.

"Hey... um... thank you... for saving me just now." Although he should be thanking _me_ for saving him. Admittedly, that gratitude was a little hard to muster. But now it was past, no need to dwell on it.

He smiled and started going up to the captain's cabin. "Ah, don't mention it! Was I going to stand by and let them hurt a cute little girl like you? It's like my grandfather used to say—"

Ramble, ramble. That was more like it, I guess. At least he had taken notice of my irresistible charm. He needed to drop the little girl bit, though. He always said it in such a copiously condescending voice.

Well, now that we were on the deck of the ship, I imagined we could take one of the leftover lifeboats to go. In fact, that's exactly what Mr. Bodyguard went to do. Come to think of it, I started to wonder if the guy had a name. He dropped the boat into the water and lowered the ladders as if he knew how to do these things, and he insisted that I go first. It's rude to refuse someone else's generosity, so I went ahead at his request. He came down after, and he almost fell because the rope of the ladders was partially singed and broken; but he came down just okay, although he did rock the boat a little when he did. Eh.

"So..." he started, "where are you going?"

I thought for a second. Although I hadn't really decided (I'm a wanderer. I don't usually think about these things ahead of time, as I'm out to see the world in general), I was pretty set on going toward the center of the continent from here. I just randomly spit out the name of a central country.

"Me? Uh, I was thinking New Zoana—"

He hummed for a moment and muttered below normal earshot, maybe thinking that I couldn't hear him. "... New Zoana, eh? That's pretty far from here."

_Uh, yeah. You aren't planning on going there with me, are you?_

"Eh heh... that's right. Why?" I smiled slightly as I asked, feeling my forehead become clammy with sweat. Deep down inside, I must've known what was going to happen next.

He picked the oars up and started rowing steadily. "I can take you there!" he said, making the mundane act of rowing a boat take on a whole new light that menaced me to no end.

I grit my teeth and groaned in panic. Big brother, here, with me, all the way to _New Zoana?_ Ohoho noooo...

"Ehhh! Can we talk this out?" I said in a pitiful attempt to negotiate. "I can get along fine on my own, you know!"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know, but it's my duty to keep you safe until you get there!"

_Duty? Oh boy..._ I just went along with him. I could see that arguing would get me nowhere now...

"Ohhhh... alright," I said in a defeated sigh.

He looked up, smiling widely and looking every bit my emotional opposite. "Great. By the way, I'm Karius. And what's your name?"

Oh? An introduction _now_? I forced a smile and answered; I couldn't just give him the cold shoulder after letting him save me like that. And he would learn sooner or later anyway, so I decided to make it less painful on myself and get it over with.

"The name's Rina," I slurred out. This is gonna be a long, long journey...

... but hey! It might not be so bad, right?

Like an omen, some munitions in the holds of the pirate ship suddenly went off and blasted the remains of the thing to kingdom come. I leaned over the side of the lifeboat as the waves from the explosion started to undulate our tiny vessel, and I outstretched my arms in loss. Kari grabbed onto my mantle and kept me from diving in after the sinking ship.

"**NOOOOO!**"

This scream didn't drown out Kari's panicked yells.

"What are you doing? You wanna drown?"

And what a loss it was. There was enough loot left in there to set myself for life. What was I saying about this journey?


	3. Chapter II: They Don't Stay Dead!

The first town I came to... I mean, _we_ came to after my raid on the mooring pirates was just a fifteen-minute row from the site of the explosion. As the guy who decided to be my escort, Kari, rowed in silence, I pawed through my satchel and murmured softly as I appraised the items that I had swiped off of the ship's holds before leaving.

"Huh," I muttered as I glanced over one of the two orihalcon statues. Orihalcon is a unique metal with the ability to seal or hold magic. This makes it a popular component to use in the creation of armor or keys. It is also said to be able to channel the will of whoever holds it. It's also really rare, so the metal is worth more than gold. Gold is just about useless in comparison, though in an economy based on the gold coin, I was inclined to think otherwise. I grew up in a merchant family, so I know the value of the coin.

"Huh," I muttered again. Kari, through his long blonde bangs and the moonlit sea breeze, gave me a vapid stare.

"What's all the huh'ing over, young lady?"

CRACK.

No, it wasn't the sound of Karius' spine breaking in two, but that of my neck popping as I twitched an eyelid. Throughout my life, I've hated patronization based on my appearance. I haven't met a person who didn't hate being condescended to, actually. It was said that I took it to extremes, though. So I _am_ a little short for my age, what about it? As much as I felt like throwing Kari off the boat and just rowing it back to town myself, the idea of having to paddle this rickety-rack wooden cup that's supposedly a lifeboat didn't thrill me much. I decided that I could give Karius a reprieve, seeing as how we had just met and he didn't know me well enough to be doing it on purpose.

"Hahaha. Oh really, you're too kind!" I bulled, hiding the fact that I abhorred being called by diminutive nicknames. "But you can call me by _my_ name," I mumbled through tactfully clenched teeth. "... You _do_ remember my name, right?"

Karius blinked twice, rowing the entire time we were speaking. "... I'm not an idiot, Little Rina." He replaced his expression of perplexion with a vacant smile.

_Little... Rina?_

I didn't appreciate the diminutive nickname for me. Like, at all. The material of my gloves creaked as they were stretched taut and clenched under the force of my fists. My annoyance went unnoticed by Kari, which was a little dismaying. As much an idiot as he seemed, he also looked and sounded like the type who was rather focused on something when he set his mind to it.

That goal, so he declared as of ten minutes ago, was escorting me to wherever I was headed. In a panic, I just blurted out the first country that came to my mind. That country was New Zoana. I much didn't fancy the idea of the long walk to New Zoana just to dump Kari off there, but I didn't relish the thought of having him follow me everywhere I went either. As the waves lapped against the sides of the small boat and rocked it haphazardly, I shook my head.

"Maybe he'll forget..."

"... Hm?"

_ACK. I didn't mean to say that out loud!_

"I-I-I mean-DON'T."

Kari's eyes widened as if a firework had just gone off in his hands. "Huh, what?"

"Don't... call... me... 'little'!" I yelled, working my way up in volume with each word.

"Oh." Kari paused his rowing, wondering what to make of my request. No, I'm pretty sure it was a _demand_. After a minute of what looked like painful deliberation, he smiled broadly and resumed his rowing.

"Alright, young lady."

Okay, so young lady wasn't as bad. But it STILL had an air of condescension to it, so I didn't let it stand.

_Oh hell no. If you're following me around all over the damned Continent, you WON'T be calling me 'little,' 'young,' or anything of the sort!_

"What's wrong with just calling me 'Rina'? Is there something wrong with your brain? Are you a little slow? Maybe I just didn't hammer the fact that you could call me by my first name into you!"

"C-c-calm down, young-"

"STOP. Why do you insist on talking to me as though I'm just a little kid?" I faked a sad sniff. It worked one over on Kari, as he stopped his rowing and leaned forward.

"Huh? N-now wait, don't cry..."

_W-o-w. He's gullible. I wonder if that's why he was on the ship._

"... Jeez, Kar," I said to him in a second, putting a halt to the sniffling. "You've gotta be a little more skeptical or else other people are gonna take you for a ride one day."

I think that one may have broken his brain. Kari screwed up his face in a way I had only seen on cartoon strips, scratching his temple with a forefinger. "So... you really weren't crying?"

"Heh," I snickered. "Nah. It takes more than that to make me cry." I acted laid back and relaxed for a second, but then I took as grave a tone as I could muster and threatened him.

"But seriously. Stop it. I'm sixteen. I'm not a little girl anymore. Sheesh..."

Kari's jaw just about dislodged with his mouth as agape as it was.

"No way! You're _really_ sixteen?"

_Ugh._

"You look, like, _a lot_ younger."

"... _Thanks,_" I lied through teeth clenched tight enough to make powder of them.

"Are you lying to me, Rina?"

"HALLELUJAH," I shrieked into the nighttime sky. "HE CALLED ME 'RINA'. SURELY THE GODS HAVE A HAND IN THIS."

I was so excited that I didn't even seem to care about the fact that he accused me of lying. But in the depths of my elephantine memory, I kept score of his transgressions so I wouldn't feel guilty for the inevitable _X_ amount of times I would have to smack him to keep him in line. Kari seemed to look the other way as I stood on the boat, my arms extended towards the heavens in triumph. For once, I looked like the idiot there.

A sudden swell of waves made me lose my balance and fall into the sea.

"Ri-!" That was the last thing I heard before the loud _sploosh_ and the gurgling noise of water rushing into my ears. Even underwater, I managed to roll my eyes in disgust of my situation.

_Why does this happen to me? Why not the idiot supermodel?_

The water exploded beside me and sent me tumbling through the surf beneath the waves. I turned my head in bewilderment, hoping it wasn't one of the meaner beasties that resided in the Demon Sea. I pushed towards the surface with my feet, thoroughly uncomfortable with being soaked with all of my clothes on.

_Damn it. I'm gonna be cold now._

The surface seemed farther than I thought. Just when I was thinking of casting a Levitation spell to help me out, something grabbed my collar. Something _powerful._ I opened my mouth to let out a shout by instinct, and the sharp taste of salt water flooded my mouth. I felt myself losing control of my direction in the water, and just as suddenly I broke the surface of the water like a fish fleeing from a shark.

I landed squarely on the center of the boat like a hurt pigeon, sputtering and screaming about whatever bruises I had attained.

"K-Kari!" I spat in a panic. "Row faster! Kari?" I noticed halfway through my tangent that Kari wasn't on the boat, either; there was just my loot, which I had the pleasure of landing on, and the two oars that he had been paddling with. I pulled a soggy clump of my hair off my face and looked over the boat's edge, fearing the worst.

A splash came from behind me. The boat started rocking, and I looked over my shoulder to see Kari struggling to climb back onto the boat.

"What the hell are you doing, Kari?"

"Same to you!" he screamed back at me. "What were you thinking? Everyone knows it's not safe to stand up on a boat!"

I slowly pieced it together. "W-wait a minute. K-Kari," I stuttered, shivering in the biting breeze. "Did you p-pull me out?" Or he threw me out, as might've been the case. Clambering onto the boat, Kari shot me a glare out of the one eye that wasn't patched with a thick veil of golden hairs.

"Yeah, I did." He was serious now, not at all as clueless seeming as he was just a minute or two ago. I saw then that Kari was a man of action, the kind of guy who makes his instincts work for him. He barely knew me, after all. I fell off the boat. He must've acted on his first thought, which was hopefully 'Save the girl!' Or maybe he was gonna go clam diving while I took a swim. That could be it, too.

"Don't do it again," he scolded me. I didn't argue, because I knew what I did was a stupid thing. I mean, I wouldn't stand up on a boat on any normal day. But that time was different. A freaking _miracle_ occurred then, and I had to give thanks to the powers that be. Right? Um, alright. You're not buying this. But the bottom line was clear: Kari could be _useful_ to me. What? It is not a cold thing to say! I could give him a purpose in life! And besides, he was just the brawn I could use in another raid. Maybe he's also handy in bar fights.

"You know, Kari," I murmured, wrapped tightly in my mantle. "Th-thanks for jumping in after me." I glanced off to the side. "Even th-though I can s-swim." I smiled to him the same way you would smile to your dog after getting him to fetch on command. Kari only gave me a half-glance and a half-smirk, though; he was already re-absorbed in his rowing.

* * *

As soon as we got into town and ditched the boat, Kari led me back to his inn. I grimaced with only a _hint_ of disgust visible.

"What the—? What's the matter with you? Do you always take girls that you've just met back to your inn on the first night?"

Suddenly, the whole bit about jumping into the water after me made some sense. It was a tricky ruse that had no doubt worked on countless other girls.

_I know I'm cute and all, but I'm _saving_ myself. Go prey on another ditz!_

Kari gave me a look that just said 'Are you sick?' and shook his head, his face turning a certain shade of red that I could see even in the low light.

"A-are you kidding? You're just a kid! Why would I ever think about... well, _that_?"

I gave him a sour glare. "I told you, I'm sixteen!"

"But you look twelve!"

CRACK. Now _that_ time it was Kari's skull. He grabbed his head and rubbed it thoroughly, mumbling under his breath.

"But you sure don't hit like a twelve year-old..."

"THANK YOU," I yelled, turning to the open street and spreading my arms as if there were a crowd watching this unfold. But a crumpled newspaper only flapped across the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

"I'm not gonna let you sleep in my room." Kari shook his head, his voice resolute. "Nuh-uh. You're gonna buy your own with some of the stuff that you stole from those pirates."

"Wha? But... but... I need this money!"

"What could you possibly need it for? Look at all the jewelry you've got hanging off of you!"

"It-it's for my grandma! Yeah, you see-"

"SHUT UP!" A loud, angry, obviously middle-aged male voice rippled through the night air. I looked up in the general direction from where it came, and there was a window on the inn's facade, open, from where an irate little man waved a fist at us.

_Oh no, not the fist! ANYTHING but the fist!_

"Sorry, sir!" Kari called up at the man through his cupped hands. The window shut with an audible _crack_ in the glass pane. Sighing, Kari glanced over at me with a disdained expression.

"Fine, alright. If it's for your grandma... I'll pay for your room." Kari took a few steps toward the inn's entrance and knocked on the door three times. A sign beside the door specified that the door was locked after 9 o'clock at night due to the rampant piracy.

_Well, it's good to know that I saved this city a little bit of grief by exterminating the brigands and their goons in the soup bowl._

"Besides, I can understand. You know, doing things for your grandparents and everything."

"O-oh really?" I asked, not entirely serious. Something about lying to Kari about needing my money was making me feel guilty inside. It seemed that I touched on an issue that was close to Kari, and in his sympathy he decided to help me out. A lesson that my older brother beat into me a while ago (so to speak) suddenly became as crystal clear as the cloudless night sky.

_Mmm. Dammit! I _hate_ you for this, bro!_

"Forget it, Kar," I sighed in resignation. "I'll pay for my room."

"Uh, Rina? Why the sudden change in—"

"Let's just say that this time is different. Hell, I'll pay for breakfast, too." I gave Kari a glance as he went 'whoa.'

"You saved me from an ambush, pulled me out of the water, and rowed the boat back to town." I shrugged and gave him a grateful smile. "We'll call it even from there."

Kari's demeanor waxed somewhere along the lines of 'Holy crap! I'm confused.' But before he could ask me any questions, the inn's door opened. Without another second to wait, I flew in and dragged Kari along.

The inn was your typical traveler's one-night-only affair. The rooms were small, had but a single bed, and smelt of waterlogged wood. The latter was probably a result of being situated right next to the ocean, but it didn't make it charming. It meant the wood wasn't sealed well and was moldy to some extent — not good for your health. I was only too happy to get out of that room come morning time, though I was still somewhat bitter over having to pay for such crappy rooming.

I walked down the hallway of the inn sans mantle and gave a couple of careless knocks on the door to Kari's room. As I waited for Kari to answer the door, I rubbed the back of my head and yawned. I took note of the damp-looking walls and drab decor. The window from which Kari and I were yelled at was just at the end of the hallway that our rooms were situated on, humorously. The crack in it was visible from here and everything. I wondered if the jerk who did the screaming at us was in one of the rooms situated besides it. I wondered if he was even still in the inn. I wouldn't waste the opportunity to drop a roach into his coffee.

Or maybe I would. _Roaches are so gross. ALL bugs are._

"Ri-Rina?"

"Eh! Yeah!" Kari was peeking through his cracked-open door, his eyes sleepy as could be. His eyes were underlined with dark semi-circles, and he yawned a lion's yawn as if to punctuate his desire to go back to sleep.

"Ah. What time is it, Rina...?" Kari slurred his words through a yawn; it looked like the first one was not big enough for him.

"Uh, late enough! It's like... midday. We missed breakfast."

"What a shame." Those words barely came out before a yawn. Kari's door closed slowly. I heard the knob click closed before I processed what had happened.

"Wait a minute! Don't lock me out, Kari!" I gripped the knob to rattle it, but I opened the door instead. Stumbling in, I got an eyeful. Well, no I didn't. But I could have. Instead, I saw Kari fitting his armor.

_... Wait a minute._

"—Armor?" Sure as I stood there, Kari was occupying himself with affixing the leather straps of what looked like a breastplate of dragon scale armor. It certainly wasn't metal — that much was clear from the green sheen of the light that the scales reflected. The breastplate also had a tasset and a pair of pauldrons in what looked like a pretty standard design, albeit made from the same unusual material.

_But armor made of dragon scales like that can't have been cheap..._

What's so special about the dragon scales? Well, on top of being tougher than iron, they're practically invulnerable to fire as well. Dragons are hard enough to find, let alone kill, so most of what's out there is secondhand or passed down within families.

My eyes tracked another path to the far corner of the room. There, leaned against a nearby wall, was a heck of a two-handed sword. Even sheathed, it was pretty menacing to look at. "—_and_ a sword?"

I paused as Kari continued to fumble with his armor's fasteners. I watched the display of ineptitude for another minute before posing a question.

"Kari," I began with a skeptical expression on my face, "did you... did you go off to fight the pirates _without_ your gear?"

"I forgot!" he cried in defeat. "By the time I got my gear on, they would have been gone!"

I sighed. I found the fact that Kari went into an all-out fight without his sword and armor invariably... stupid. _No wonder he was captured,_ I thought. Frankly, he was lucky to be alive. Maybe the pirates saw his physique and figured that they could sell him as a slave or something. I scratched the side of my cheek, eyes closed and face angled towards the ground.

"So that means... you're an adventurer?" I asked, my tone speckled with curiosity. "Your gear must have been expensive..."

Finally giving up on his armor's straps, Kari gave me a shrug to start his reply. "I'm a wandering mercenary," he proclaimed with some pride in his voice. "Though I was just looking for something at first..."

I tilted my head.

"Oh? And what were you looking for?"

"Eh..." Kari closed his eyes. "I can't say."

"You can't? Or you won't?"

But nothing. I clicked my tongue.

"Okay then. Be that way!" I thought it was alright. We all have our secrets, and I figured it was nothing since Kari seems to have moved on from it into aimless wandering. I simply decided to help him get his armor on correctly.

_How did you ever survive out there by yourself?_

* * *

After I helped Kari fix his armor, got a pat on my head, and gave him a blow to his head for yet another 'little Rina' remark, the two of us headed down to the inn's tavern for a late lunch.

I was pleased to learn that even though the rooms sucked, the food was pretty great. Being by the ocean makes it easy to get fresh seafood. The cook must have been a master chef, too. The best part of all this was how cheap it was to get what I consider a sizable banquet.

_Oh boy... I'm famished!_

Kari dug in, too. He must have been ravenous, what with being locked up in that pirate ship and all. But just because he was ravenous didn't give him the right to start horning in on my plates.

"Hey!" I blurted through a half-full mouth. "This is _my_ side of the table! Stay on your own!"

"Speak for yourself!" he retorted with a completely full mouth, somehow without spilling its contents. That takes skill right there. "You were doing the same thing!"

Oh. So I was. Silly of me to have not noticed, eh? _Hahaha..._

"I'm paying for this meal!" I hissed after swallowing and taking a gulp of fresh water. "I can do it if I want to!"

"But that's not fair!" Kari whined.

_Waaaaaah. WAAAAAAH. I'm not being generous enough by paying?_

"Excuse me!" A voice interrupted the food-fight I had going with Kari. The two of us froze in place, and simultaneously, we turned our attentions to the waitress that stood at our tableside. She smiled nervously, standing just outside of the area that had been decreed a battleground as of five minutes ago. In her fidgety hands she held an unceremonious envelope.

"You are Rina Erris, correct?" the waitress asked. I suddenly felt uncomfortable as several different eyes fell on me. From what I could sense, there was little in the way of friendliness or comfort radiating from those eyes. My infamy was catching up with me quickly, but I tried to disprove the rumors that had no doubt dragged my good name through the mud.

"Yeah!" I chirped enthusiastically, casually shifting my eyes to see if any of those cautious on-lookers bought the act. "Um," I droned innocently, "is that letter for me?"

The waitress, comforted somewhat by the best friend act I _so_ faked, handed me the letter and stepped back.

"You know," she commented as she began to retreat, "you _are_ much nicer than the newspapers say..."

_Twitch._ As the waitress headed off in another direction, I turned to a Karius besieged by confusion.

"What got into you?" he muttered bluntly, clearly confused by my mood shift not ten seconds ago.

"I dunno," I shrugged to him as I tore the sealed flap off the envelope. "Weirdness sometimes takes a hold of me and BAM. Stuff happens." My eyes scanned the letter in my hands. The lively glow in them was surely fading off, because Kari picked up on this and asked with urgency:

"... What is it, Rina?"

I smiled ruefully to Kari and looked down to the letter. "BAM. Stuff happens. Listen to this:

_Dear psychotic wench (Rina Erris),_

_It doesn't take a genius to figure out that YOU were the one that caused all the destruction on the pirate ship last night. Bravo, woman! BRAVO. Not only did you kill the captain and several of my crewmates, but you also bUrNeD ME rather severely. I am not one who takes bullying lightly, especially not bullying from an ADOLESCENT, PUERILE, INEPT, FLAT CHESTED, BRAINLESS SCAMP OF A WITCH. By the time you get this letter, provided the waitress isn't as brainless as you are, the mayor will be getting comfortably acquainted with my master's presence. If you do not show up by sundown today, I regret that the mayor's safety cannot be guaranteed._

_Toodles, skank!_

— _Someone Who Loathes You_

"See?" I remarked cheerfully to Kari. "Someone loathes me! Yay!" It wasn't anything new. I kind of made it into a hobby or pastime. I wanted to see how many criminals I could get to hate me. I could do without all the flat-chest comments, though. I'm not _that_ flat. I'm not! Just because I don't have a pair of freaking turkeys grafted onto my chest doesn't mean I'm _flat_.

... Sorry. It's a sensitive subject for me. It goes hand-in-hand with how Kari thinks I'm a kid? It happens more often than I like to admit, I'll admit.

Anyway, Kari didn't seem to share the same kind of enthusiasm for the letter that I did.

"Rina? What was that part about the mayor again?"

_... Crap._

"Uh, n-nothing!" Before I could defend it, Kari swiped the letter from my hand. With his massive reach, I don't think I could have gotten it away from him in time, anyway.

"H-hey! That's addressed to me, you baboon!"

Kari ignored me and scanned over the letter. "Rina! We can't leave this alone! What about the mayor?"

"H-he's got guards! They can take care of him, right? What the... Kari, there's something written on the back."

"Hm?" Kari turned the letter around. From the movements of his eyes, it didn't take him long to track down the messy script. He squinted, apparently trying to read it correctly. After an excruciating thirty seconds of waiting, Kari read it aloud.

"I... will... wait for you..."

I snatched the letter from him.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"HAH. Got you back, sucker! Now...

_I will be waiting for you in the dunes approximately one league south of Aoiumi. Do not bring soldiers, OR ELSE._

"And... that's it." Whoever wrote the letter definitely had one hell of a chip on his shoulder, a chip that caused him to write with extreme malice. In no less than five places was the ink spattered from where the pen tip broke. I thumbed my nose, pondering the risk-versus-reward factor of this undertaking. But I was unfairly rushed; Kari was already up and heading for the door when I fell out of my thoughts.

"Hey! Wait up!"

I ran after Kari. I couldn't let him show up alone to my fight, could I? That would make me look hilariously bad. In the competitive business I was involved in, you lived and died by your reputation. I had to make sure that I was good and feared.

Once our bills were paid off, Kari and I were off to the southern dunes.


	4. Chapter III: Those Driven By Spite

Hi! I'm Rina Erris. I'm fifteen years old, and I love magic, food, treasure, and long walks on the beach. Well, I normally love long walks on the beach. A sinking feeling of impending inconvenience tends to ruin it.

I spent most of the walk playing catch up to Kari. He walked forward with a deliberate stride, intent with meeting whoever sent that letter to me in the restaurant back in town. He was silent the entire way, which unnerved me. He stopped only once when we exited the inn to ascertain the position of the sun. Kari didn't even look at me, so I started to question if he ever had the intention of actually 'protecting' me for as far as he said he would.

"Hey! Kari!"

He gave me a quick glance, but he didn't say anything.

"... Kari! Say something!"

I didn't even get so much as a glance that time. It was beginning to irritate me, and it had only been five minutes. I opted simply to watch the urban sprawl thin out as we got further and further from town. We hit a dirt path, and that dirt path spread out into the lengthy strand of coastline that ran all along the ocean's borders with the land. A lonely shack was the last thing we came across before woods surrounded us on the right, and sand dunes and ocean on the left.

_... Wait a minute._

"Kari!" I yelled. When he didn't reply, I started to yell his name as repetitiously and obnoxiously as I could. Or I was going to before I tripped on an exposed root that was out for my blood.

FWUMP. I faceplanted into the dirt so quick that I only had time to flail my arms and close my eyes.

"My... nose..." I growled into the dirt.

"Rina! Are you okay?"

Kari finally replied to me, or my pain I should say. Without nursing my wounds, I pushed myself off the ground and locked eyes with Kari.

"Kari!" I shouted, "You're going the _wrong_ way!"

It was as if I'd just thrown a spark in his face; Kari brought his forearm up to his face and recoiled. "What? No way!"

"Way?" I glanced off to the west, across the sea. The sun was already hanging dangerously low in the sky. It was taunting me. By my calculation, we had only an hour and a half to make up twice the distance that we originally needed to travel to confront the creep that had sent me that libelous letter at the inn.

Without thinking, I got up and turned on my heels. "You dunce! Hurry up!"

I didn't wait for his reply, though I thought I heard it as "Why didn't you say so before?" through the footfalls I made in the sand and the rushes of breath that blasted in and out of my nose.

* * *

Kari and I ran back through the city. We received quite the number of strange looks, though at least it was the way it should be: me leading the way with Kari following behind. We stampeded through the city until we reached the _real_ southern side of the town.

I stopped for a breather. I ran nonstop for half an hour, and I decided that I was entitled to a break. Between pants and breaths, I turned towards Kari and scolded him.

"Kari! Are you blind? Didn't you see that you were going the _wrong_ way?"

"I... I didn't realize!"

My eyes were incredulous, that much is without a doubt. What I can't remember is how long I stared at him for that excuse.

"But... But you looked up at the sky to check! How could you not know?"

"Huh? Oh!"

_Oh boy._

"I just thought I saw a rain cloud."

"Oh. So you, like, _weren't_ checking directions?"

"No... Why didn't you do that, huh?"

"I THOUGHT YOU KNEW!"

Kari winced at my shout. I stared him down for a minute before he shook his head.

"Your voice is so shrill..."

I kicked Kari in the shin. When he got up off the ground and stopped being such a baby about my little kick, I started running towards our goal further to the south.

* * *

Almost sundown. This time I made sure that we were headed in the right direction. Turning around on occasion, I made sure that Kari was following close behind.

_Well, he is following. That makes me feel a little better._

I knew I was going into a fight, but I didn't know whom I was going to fight with. Common sense told me that whoever was waiting for me was nothing, but I had it beaten into me (so to speak) during my training to not underestimate my opponents. Of course, this was an invitation to a confrontation from a guy I had allegedly already crisped. If he was injured and not coherent enough to construct a strategy against me, I didn't think he was much to worry about.

"Are we there yet?" Kari called out from the back. I looked behind myself; the city was already out of sight. The sky was no longer a bright blue but a pale yellow around the low sun. Further away from the sun, in the east, the sky was already becoming a deeper shade of blue. I glanced to the opposite way, the west, and slowed from a run to a walk.

"We should make it there on time walking," I asided casually as I placed my hands comfortably behind my head. I tried to control my breaths so I wouldn't get lightheaded, as I tended to after running for a good distance.

_Whew. I haven't had a workout like that since... well. A long time ago._

Scanning the area, I still didn't pick up on any threats. I glanced over to Kari, wondering if he was just as strong as he looked. Sure, he had a beastly sword and a vest of some great armor, but these things aren't any use to you if you don't know how to use them. Unfortunately, I had to say that he didn't look promising. As he swaggered a distance equal to my height behind me, he stared ahead into some unseen distance with his brows raised in an expression that said 'I need to sleep.' He looked about as alert as a fish that had had its head chopped off. He didn't seem to notice me staring.

Between now and our arrival at the battleground, nothing happened. It was quite amusing to me. This guy summoned me three miles out from town and he didn't have the gall, capability or forethought to lay an ambush. It made me wonder just how useful he was to his last employer. But then something started to tug at my mind a bit. He mentioned a 'master' of his in his letter.

_I'm not too familiar with pirates and the way they run things, but isn't the captain the 'master' of the crew?_

Just as I was wondering this, I sensed it. There was a thick bloodlust in the air. I jerked my head up and gave the area the once over.

Hills of sand towered well above my height in the area we came to; it was a dune field, just as the letter had directed me to. This area was distinctly different from the rest of the beachline that ran along this part of Lyzeille's west coast. Specifically, it was the dunes. These dunes were created, allegedly, as part of the fallout from some explosive force that shaped this part of the coastline at least a thousand years ago. A blast like that was of some titanic force, so the Sorcerer's Guild is convinced that this is a battlefield from ages past. Some of the more unlikely theories point to the blast being the handiwork of Lei Magnus, the Sage.

If the name Lei Magnus sounds important, that's because he is. Or was. No one knows where he went, exactly, but he's responsible for the creation of the two most powerful spells that a human can supposedly cast. One of them is the Dragon Slave, a spell with just the kind of power to cause the sort of devastation that would shape an entire beach. The other is arguably more destructive; the Blast Bomb is in some ways more legendary than even the Dragon Slave, for only three people in history have been recorded casting it. The first was, of course, the inventor of the spell, Rei Magnus. The second was a nameless priest who was witnessed casting the spell by the third caster. The third person to cast the spell was Lina Inverse, a sorceress who is almost a legend unto herself.

Lina Inverse made a number of discoveries regarding magic, verifying quite a few theories. It is said that she even had a set of magic capacity amplifiers, the likes of which have never been crafted. It is suspected that Lina had found a process by which to successfully craft magic amplifiers of the sort that she had. In fact, it is believed by the Guild that she was holding out on a whole lot of crap that made her as powerful a sorceress as she was. If she did know something that the Guild didn't, she wasn't sharing. Even though the Guild completely hates her to this day for it, I think that Lina was of completely sound mind with her decision. I mean, come on — what if someone _really_ psychotic had gotten their hands on that kind of power? Okay, so the history books say she was a malicious demoness trapped inside a human body, but can you _really_ believe that? With that kind of power, a basic moral structure was really the only thing keeping her from a hostile takeover of any kingdom she wanted.

Yeah, I am a Lina fan. Yeah, I have been stigmatized for it. But Lina was a fellow Zefielian, and opinions on her vary immensely from kingdom to kingdom. There's so little reliable information that I fear that we may never know who the real Lina Inverse truly was. The facts are clear though — she was a legend in her time, and I strive to achieve greatness like that in my own.

Now out of my contemplations, I folded my arms and walked a few steps out into the dune field, casually glancing around the area as I continued to scan for more presences. One became two, two became four, and so on until I could make out about twelve different hostiles.

_They sure know how to underestimate a girl,_ I thought to myself as I dug my heels in. I heard the sound of a sword being drawn, and I realized it was Kari setting himself at the ready.

_I guess he's not untrained, after all._

"All right!" I yelled at the visually remote area. "You can come out now! We know you're there!"

I heard a growling come out from behind a dune to our right. I shook my head with a coy, pursed smirk. It was clearly human, and loaded with frustration. I could only imagine that this was the punk that I had fried.

"Why hello there!" I called out to him. His features weren't clear with the sun behind him silhouetting his form, but I could make out a longcoat. Those were quickly becoming popular with sorcerers who were also fighters on the side, like me, but I wore more the more traditional mage's mantle over a longcoat. The cape-and-shoulder guard combo that I wore was a family hand-me-down that I took with me when I first set out from home. I thought it had a very eclectic, classic feel to its design. Other, less sophisticated rabble said that I look like an out-of-fashion battle re-enactment mage.

_What do they know?_

Anyway, the guy also walked with a heavy limp and had what looked like the ends of bandages hanging from various places around his body. He looked bald from a distance, but as he got closer I could see that his head was completely wrapped in bandages. Only one of his eyes was uncovered, and I could see the burnt skin around the edges. I had to cringe slightly at that. But as my expression prompted a rant from our new friend, I knew that I was going to have to control my appearance a bit better or get my ear chewed off each time.

"Admiring your handiwork, sorceress? I hope you enjoyed it, because it is the last time you'll do such a thing!"

I tilted my head, feigning innocence. "Oh. Am I going to unlearn fire magic?"

I could feel a tapping on my shoulder from behind. Shifting my eyes let me see that it was Kari. As soon as he saw me looking at him, he fired off a question.

"You're a sorceress?" he said with awe. At first, I didn't know how to reply. Anger? Shock? Indifference? I stood there with my mouth just slightly ajar as I searched for words that would not come.

"H-how could you _not_ see that she is a sorceress?" the other man with us sputtered, also taken aback by Kari's show of ignorance. "Look at all the tacky charms she's wearing! And that outmoded mantle as well! She's a _stereotype_."

"... So she's a stereotype, not a sorceress?"

I twitched an eye. "Hey, mummy-dummy!" That got his attention. It wasn't very hard, in all honesty. I came up with that insult in, hmm, two seconds? "This stereotype is here for the mayor," I barked. "Where is he?"

"The mayor?" His eye narrowed at the same time he emitted a low chuckling. With a smug voice, he said, "Why would I go through all that trouble for _you?_"

_Oh no._ I knew what had happened, and I placed a hand on my forehead. To be frank, I should have seen it; how could a half-injured ex-pirate with the tactical mindset of a dandruff flake kidnap the town's mayor between the time I bombed him and the time I had lunch? The surviving pirate cackled in a fashion that was more disconcerting than evil.

"Haha! Now you realize that you've been had! The mayor was never in any danger! I simply _knew_ that you would be stupid enough to take the bait."

I turned my head and gave Kari a belligerent glare. He shrugged, showing an expression that just said, 'oops?'

I turned back towards the crazy guy who had called me out, rotating my right arm at the shoulder.

"Well, can we hurry up and get over with your little party here? I want to get dinner in before I hit the road." Now I just wanted to hurry up and finish what I started so that I could hurry up and dump Kari off at the border of New Zoana.

_I don't think I can put up with Kari for longer than that._

The bandaged man shrugged and turned towards the dunes, half-hobbling. As he did, I began a spell with a low voice; I didn't want him to hear it coming, did I?

He made a sputtering attempt at a whistle, but it was apparently good enough for whoever was waiting for it; the dunes around us began to shift. There was more growling, but it was multitudinous and animalistic. It was easy to see from there that they were trolls, beastly humanoids about twice as tall as even Kari and with the fearsome capability to heal even the most severe of wounds within seconds. As they exploded out of the sand one by one until the whole of them were revealed, I made note that we were surrounded.

The opportunity for a cutting zinger arose, and I just had to take it. "Heh! You needed help with me, but who would be dumb enough to listen to you? Trolls, naturally." I nodded sagely, clapping my hands. I could tell that it was going to be a problem killing all eleven of these trolls with my magic alone, but I had Kari to use as a meatshield. Oh come on, that's not cruel! It's what fighters do, right? They go out and distract the enemies while the heavy hitters (me, in other words) charge up the explosives!

Needless to say, I gave Kari his cue to go with a kick in the butt. "Well? Fight them!"

"What? But I hate trolls, Rina!" Kari whined, favoring the boot mark on his right buttcheek.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be a wuss. Besides, who's gonna fight them? Me?" I made a pouty-face, intertwining my fingers. "Come on; I'm just a girl..."

Kari rolled his eyes and pulled me closer to his side by my cloak. "Stay close," he whispered. I smiled knowingly, nudging Kari.

_Work that charm, Rina! Work it!_

I whispered my strategy back to him. "We have to get away from this spot. When I say 'Lighting,' cover your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it." Without giving him any more time to think about that, I raised my right hand over my head.

"Lighting!"

A flare of white brighter than the sun exploded over my palm. It couldn't have been that bad for those trolls that were facing the west, eyeing us in the sun's general direction, but it had to be hell for those whose eyes were adjusting to the darkness of being in the shadows cast by the setting sun. Seizing our opportunity, I pushed Kari at the waist. He got the message quicker than I had expected, and he sprinted past a stumbling troll. I followed close behind and underneath. Mr. Troll must have felt my mantle brush against his leg, because he roared and swiped down at it as I evaded his grasp.

"Okay," I mumbled to Kari. "We can fight them from he—"

He was already charging the group before I could finish the sentence.

_Huh. He's got an enthusiasm for this, now!_

Not being one to waste an opportunity, I prepped my next spell as Kari leapt into the air. He let his forward momentum carry him as he spun his sword about in his right hand twice, and at the apex of his jump he joined his other hand to the sword's hilt and brought it down on the troll's nape. There was a sickening series of crackles as Kari's blade carved through troll flesh and bones, but the next move was a testament to the hidden strength that Kari had: he twisted his blade and brought it _up_ through the troll's chest and out the opposite shoulder. The head was effectively ripped from the body. Kari seemed to know just how to deal with trolls; the only way to kill them without magic was to take their heads off.

Before that finishing move, Kari brought his feet up to stabilize himself on the troll's torso. After laying the kill on that troll, he moved on to Troll #2 through the air. This one met a quicker, though arguably less gruesome death. In the short distance that he had, Kari inverted his sword and drove it through the throat of Troll #2. The victim gurgled blood and bile, but Kari was unfazed in the splatterfest as he arched his sword around and twisted it - and the troll's head - off; with a single move, he decapitated the beast. Kari, in full swordsman mode, landed and swiftly started on Troll C by hacking its legs off at the knees. I was completely in awe at the skill Kari demonstrated. From the way he acted, I expected him to be just another moron with a sword, but _wow_ — if I had to describe it, I'd say it looked like Kari was born holding a sword with the kind of practiced ease he fought with.

_Geez. With that kind of a streak, it's really gonna make me look worthless._

It was by that time that I had finished chanting my spell. Not one who liked looking meek and helpless, I let loose with glee.

"Blast Ash!" I called as I threw my hands forward. My hands crackled with a purple spark before a stream of black waves launched forward in a spread. The leading edge of the wake caught one, two, three trolls that were rushing at Kari; the trio of doomed monsters let out some bloodcurdling shrieks before they were turned into piles of smoldering ash by the force of the spell. I thumbed my nose and flashed a cheeky smile, forming a 'v-for-victory' gesture with that same hand I used to thumb my nose.

"Well, I guess my aim is not that bad after all."

Blast Ash is a nifty area-affecting spell made for just this kind of scenario. It's a Black Magic spell that wreaks some serious havoc on living beings. Anything with a life-sign that is hit by this spell is reduced to an unattractive mound of foul-smelling ash. The ash still smells better than trolls, though. Really!

We were fifteen seconds into the battle. By the time Kari had literally chopped Troll C to pieces, the other five that remained regained their vision just in time to see the remains of my Blast Ash victims scatter in the wind. As Troll C's head landed somewhere at Troll #4's feet, the pirate whose employ they were in seemed to gawk.

"You—no—HOW?" He fell into a fit of muttered obscenities and incoherencies in a pattern that I couldn't interpret. The rest of the trolls eyed Kari with extreme caution — and fear — even though he was turned towards me and trading shrugs with yours truly as mummy man hollered a tangent about the ineptitude of hired help these days. To take advantage of the disorganized nature of the enemy party, I began chanting another spell as I walked forward. Kari busied himself with flicking the troll-juice off his sword's edge.

"Rina, what's the point of this?" he asked me as I stepped over to his side. Actually, that was a good question. A getaway would have been easier to pull off with the flight spells I have in my repertoire.

"Um... street cred, I guess? People talk about you when you defeat them," I uttered wryly as I took in the stomach-turning sight of Kari's dismantled victim. "Like that. If people know that you did _that_," I remarked as I pointed to the crumpled excuse of a corpse, "then they will be _afraid_ of you and less likely to mess with you." I blinked. "Hey, wait a minute! You're the one that wanted to come here!"

"Oh," Kari responded, not at all convinced. I raised a brow, then shrugged and turned to the stressed-out pirate with nonchalance. He was trying to motivate his trolling troupe into retrying the assault by pushing at their knees with feeble strength. But the troll, who appeared to be the biggest and meanest one of the group, proved to be smarter than the pirate because he picked the man up and flicked him across a dune like a bodybuilder flicking a moth off his trousers.

"Well!" I twittered to the defeated failure of a seabound brigand as we walked up to him; the trolls busied themselves with retreating to the woods in a frenzied haste behind us.

"I think it's time you gave me an apology. You know, for all the insults you threw my way in your letter."

"Never!" the pirate snarled. "You can forget ever hearing forgiving words from me, you opportunistic whore! No, you're too flat to even be a prostitute! You're just a little girl with an ego pro—"

"Dill Brand!" I screamed, casting my hands towards the ground. At my command, it rumbled and blew up in a cloud of sand beneath that foulmouthed crook.

"AHHHH!"

Through a sneer, I watched his shadow disappear over the top of a dune, his flight probably finishing as the irregular splash I heard among the surf roaring beyond the dunecaps. Dusting my gloves off, I took a quick glance to Kari before starting out for town.

"We're done here, Kari. Let's beat it." Looking back at Kari, I could see him rolling his eyes back as he sniffed deeply. I made note of the bad smell too, but it didn't take long for me to pin an identity to it — dead troll.

"Ugh," he groaned as he stored his sword. "This is why I hate trolls."

"You and me both, Kar," I asided as I led the way.

* * *

The next few days weren't as eventful as the day that I was foolishly called out for a fight. I expected it to be a fight, anyway — it was a complete and total thrashing. The trolls presented to us didn't stand a chance. Also, I didn't have to work as hard because Kari was there. Since that day, I decided that Kari was a definite keeper. Knowing this, and smiling knowingly, I knocked his bicep playfully.

We were on one of the many small dirt roads that wound their way through the countryside, and we were bound east towards Saillune. New Zoana was a relatively new kingdom compared to the others surrounding it, a territory situated on the northern border between Saillune and the Dukedom of Kalmaart. It was quite a trip, like I've said before, but there was something going on in Dils that I'd heard about — a festival of sorts. It supposedly involved some esoteric oral traditions that were once part of the Clair Bible, so I was interested as could be, being a sorceress. I figured that I'd springboard from New Zoana and head north from there instead of cutting right through Ralteague, which is where we were at the moment. The reason I wanted to follow the route I previously described is because there is nothing but rocks, dirt and wilderness through most of northern Ralteague.

Fortunately, the weather had been good to us and it looked to be fair for the next several days.

"Yo, Kar. I was thinking about something."

"Yeah?" Kari replied first with a smile, stretching his arms out in front of him. We had been walking for a while, so it was natural that he was feeling a little tense.

"I haven't asked you, but how did you learn to wield a sword like that?"

"Mmm. Like what?" His voice was hinged with a thrum of cluelessness. I didn't think he could forget the fight we had with the nameless pirate and the trolls, being one of our most dangerous moments together so far, but apparently, he did. Either he didn't consider them much, or he really _did_ forget.

"The trolls?" I droned, hoping that would jar his memory a bit. Luckily, he got the point quickly.

"Oh! Them. Yeah... how did I learn to use a sword like that?"

"Yeah. It looked sorta'... familiar."

"Really?" Kari scratched his chin, flicking an earlobe with the forefinger to that hand. "But I never used my sword in front of you before that..."

_... He doesn't get it._

"That's besides the point," I said, trying to get to my original question's answer. "I asked _how_."

"Alright, alright," he said to me as if he were talking to a child. "No need to get crabby now."

_Grr. Who's crabby?_

"It's just sorta' expected in my family. I just... knew. I don't remember when I started training, so I've always been familiar with a sword."

"A prodigy, eh?" I teased, nudging him in the side with an elbow.

"A... praw-dih-gee? That sounds dirty, Rina."

My mood flip-flopped, and I punched Kari in the ribs. He grunted and favored his side, whimpering.

"Why would that mean anything dirty, Kari?"

"I said it _sounded_ dirty! Like a crawdaddy. Those live in muddy water, you know!"

"Oh come on! You're not that clever, Kari."

Kari sighed, patting his flank where I cracked him. "You have some bony elbows, Rina."

"Oh shut up. I can't help it."

The saying "familiarity breeds contempt" was working its magic here. Though Kari and I got along fifty-percent of the time, I had to strain my brain the other fifty-percent of the time to remember why I was letting him tail me like this.

It was dusk on the fourth day out from Aoiumi that Kari and I decided to stop for the day and make camp. As I worked on the fire, Kari went out to get the wood. Ralteague is a mountainous region, so there was an abundance of natural shelters that we took advantage of while we were in the area. This time, a giagantic leaning rock provided a roof of considerable size over our heads. It was haphazardly positioned, looming in such a fashion that it looked like it would come crashing down any given instant. But I tested it out first by Levitating to the top and jumping up and down on it a few times. In the end, I figured that there was a section of this colossal outcropping _twice_ as big under the ground that was supporting it.

After I both put Kari's fears to rest and had a fire going to keep us warm from the chilly vernal nights that this area was known for, my swordsman partner decided to strike up some conversation.

"Why are you heading to New Zoana, anyway?" he asked me out of the blue. "I hear the food there sucks..."

"You don't say..." The destination that I came up with in a hurry was really just to discourage Kari from following me in the first place, but that piece of trivia right there was nearly enough to discourage me from going there at all.

"So then," I mumbled to Kari, the effects of fatigue weighing on me. "Where should we go then, if you don't want to go to New Zoana? To tell you the truth, I don't really wanna go there too much myself..."

"Eh," Kari replied. Then a distinctive, grumbling noise that shook the hard floor began resounding from Kari. Puzzling, I leaned over the smoldering remains of the fire and snapped my fingers twice in front of him. I could see his eyes glazed over; I couldn't believe it. The guy was out like a light. CLICK.

I shook my head — the dope fell asleep.

* * *

In the end I just decided to keep going forward towards the same destination we had originally determined. I thought that maybe there might be something of interest in New Zoana after all, but I was highly doubtful.

_Besides. It's not as if I have anywhere better to be..._

By the noon of the next day, Kari and I came to a welcome sight for sore eyes — a city! Kari groaned his approval of the sight and staggered forward a couple of steps. I tilted my head while watching him, wondering if he was okay. But then I caught it, too — the smell of grilled meat wafting up from the streets in the city nestled in the valley below. With a grin, I took a running leap off the cliff's edge.

"Levitation!" I called. My descent seemed not to slow at first, and I heard Kari screaming a variety of curses at me for that stunt. The slower my fall got, the quieter the screams got, until I stopped falling and Kari was silent.

As I alighted quietly on the ground and took a glance back, I saw Kari coming down off the mountain path, his face red as a beet and his breaths ragged as a rabid cat's blanket. He half-clenched his hands, but they seemed to get stuck in a strained, claw-fingered position as he tried to close them into fists.

"D-d-don't do that!" he yelled at me. "Are you crazy? Why the heck would you jump off a cliff like that?"

I watched him for a second, silent, and then shrugged. "Because I can?"

Kari, in his exhaustion, toppled over at the first breeze that passed along. I sighed and dropped an Aqua Create spell on him to rouse him. He needed a bath anyway.

One soaked swordsman later, Kari and I made our way into the town. As the saying goes, the nose knows, and boy did it ever. I was led straight for a place whose only specialty was meat - grilled, juicy, bloody red meat. It seemed like the locals regarded it as everyday fare, but to travelers like Kari and me, who had only had trail rations for dinner the last couple of nights, it was a king's banquet.

Again, dinner was like a war all its own, but the two of us managed to eat until the restaurant kicked us out. When I offered them more money to keep the food coming, the waitress simply shouted, "There is no more food!"

While I sat there in a contemplative silence, pondering whether or not I should sling an insult back, Kari stood up with a deep wrinkle in his brow. I turned my attention to him just to see that his glare was directed towards the door.

_Uh oh,_ I immediately thought. _Kari's out of character, which can only mean..._

Given a moment of concentration, I could feel it, too. Someone nearby had every intention to kill within the next few minutes. I caught my lower lip between my front teeth and stood up. Kari was already walking out, so I used that as an excuse to leave a lousy tip. I caught some flak for it, but what was the waitress going to do? Spit in my leftovers?

I moved to catch up with Kari. He was a brisk walker when he wasn't stumbling around in some pseudo-inebriated state of disorientation, so it threw my groove off a bit when he did a 180-degree shift like this on me. I jogged a few feet behind Kari when I sensed it — someone else.

"Stop, Kar. Someone's in the next alley ahead."

By now it was already nighttime, but whoever was responsible for putting the light spells on these streetlamps was not doing his job. The road was a murky expanse of black ground, and the area was eerily shaded in a night where the moon hadn't risen above the horizon yet. Beyond the buildings at the end of the street rose the crags of the distant mountains; the road to the east wound through those mountains.

Kari took a couple steps back, his left hand on his sword's hilt. I heard footsteps resonating from the surfaces of the buildings just ahead. From the alleyway that I had pointed out to Kari emerged as shady a figure as one could imagine.

He had an average height for a guy, a little less than six feet tall at the most. He was completely clothed in what looked like white, heavy-duty traveler's robes. They wrapped around his body in thick folds like clouds overburdened with water. The robes gave off the same impression here; this man seemed like he was burdened with something otherwise unseen. It was clear from his deliberate movements that he had a plan, and that I was somehow involved if he was addressing me like this.

"Greetings," he spoke with a low, muffled voice. I couldn't make out this man's face, as his head was completely covered with a hood. The muffling indicated to me that he was wearing a mask as well. His voice sounded young, like in-his-20s young. It was also decidedly male, despite the softness. His hands looked dark, but in the dim light that streamed from the windows surrounding the street we were in, I could see that he was wearing knuckle gloves over them. His hands looked somewhat... burnt. That immediately made me suspicious.

"Yeah, hi," I addressed him casually. "Nice weather we're having here tonight, eh?"

The man shrugged, though it looked like a laborious task to him. "I suppose. But who really cares about how the weather is?"

The man was not the malicious presence that Kari and I had sensed back at the restaurant. This was a completely different one, a more mysterious one. His motives were less obvious. In the low light, I caught his dark eyes eyeing the strap of leather than ran crosswise from my left shoulder down to my hip. He seemed to take an interest in the bag, and it wasn't long before he verified what I was thinking.

"Would you happen to be a peddler of magical goods?" he asked me. I was dumbfounded at the question. Could no one tell that I was a sorceress?

"No..." I replied dryly. "I'm a sorceress. What about you, buddy? Are you a curtain salesman?"

Kari laughed at that. I'm glad he found my joke funny, but the stranger just seemed to shake his head beneath the shroud of his hood.

"They did say you were one for talking, Rina Erris," the stranger intoned with an otiose voice. The blatant disregard for respect that my name deserves took me back a step.

_Grief. Burnt complexion, seemingly clairvoyant name-dropping — it's obvious._ The guy was clearly affiliated with the pirate group that I toasted earlier in the week. I took another step back, shaking my head in a gesture that said, 'Nuh-uh! I stole these things fair and square!'

"We can easily avoid conflict here, Rina," the man continued to speak, apparently completely unfazed by the sight of Karius also being there with me. As far as Kari's case went, he just looked confused. It didn't seem like the poor guy could comprehend how people he has never met before could know my name. It was as if to him it wasn't possible that I had existed before we met.

"So tell me, then; how can we avoid conflict here?" I asked with a guarded tone. The man ruffled his cloak and extended a hand to his side. He muttered 'Lighting' in a low voice and conjured a dim but long-lasting ball of light. I could see his features somewhat more clearly in the light he created, but he remained as enigmatic as since he appeared before us. The sight of his eyes was the most startling bit — _they weren't human._ In fact, they looked like a cross between human eyes and snake eyes. His eyes, they were those of a _demon_.

"Well, we have several options," he offered in a near whisper. "You could sell me the items. Or—"

"J-Judas!" A familiar voice interrupted the man in mid-sentence. I noted that he looked up in response to the name that was shouted, his eyes apparently furrowed with some negative emotion regarding it. I could feel the air swell with bloodlust, and I turned my gaze toward the street corner perhaps forty feet down the road from where we stood. There, cloaked in the shadows of the night, stood a man wrapped head to toe in bandages. It was my friend, the _Toasty Corsair_. The only difference between now and earlier in the week was that he had lost any and all fashion sense he once had; he now had a hilariously exaggerated mantle as his cloak. He seemed to gawk at the three of us talking, but he remained silent otherwise.

The man who was talking to me closed his eyes, and I thought I heard what sounded like a growl rippling from his throat.

"I believe you're acquainted with Syrius," the man asided to me as he turned towards the twitchy contemporary. "He is... an agent of mine."

"Oh," I simply coughed out. "So... I guess that means you're a pirate, too, huh?" I was displeased with the way things were turning out. It looked like I was going to have to kick some ass once again. All I wanted to do was turn in after that hefty meal, which hadn't even settled yet. _If I fight now, I'm gonna have a stomachache in the morning,_ I muttered to myself in my thoughts.

In response to my mostly-rhetorical question, the robed man shook his head. "No. I do not associate with lowly rabble such as... 'pirates.'" Apparently seeing the futility in continuing to withhold his identity, the man looked off towards the alley he emerged from. "My name is Judas. Syrius is merely an underling of mine," he informed us with a firm voice. Syrius seemed not to like the label of 'mere underling,' but perhaps it was just the seething rage that I was feeling ooze out of his soul.

"Syrius," Judas continued, "was supposed to obtain something for me. It is a treasure that the pirates had stolen from me a while back and wanted back. I would not have it denied of me, so I sent Syrius to infiltrate their ranks." Judas paced back and forth a few feet perpendicular to the direction that Kari and I faced as he spoke. "Little did I know. Little did I know that the Rainbow Devil would show up and render months of work fruitless."

I felt my ears pop as my jaw clenched. _I don't like that nickname._

"So?" I sneered. "What do you want then?"

"The artifact, of course." Judas folded his arms. That kind of body language indicated to me that he was closed off to other suggestions. "How you choose to give it to me," he added, "is completely up to you. I would be equally as glad to buy it off of you as I would be to pry it from your dead grip."

A sense of alarm ran all the way down to my feet. Normally, that kind of tough talk would just make me throw my head back in a loud laugh; but from this shadow, this 'Judas,' the threats seemed reinforced by the confident undertones in his voice and the force of will that he projected. My instincts told me not to make the first move.

"Just know that I intend on getting what I seek." Judas' left hand quietly made a statement as it brushed aside the edge of his cloak to reveal a sheathed broadsword.

"And I _will_ attain it one way or the other."

Syrius ran up to Judas' side, hunched over to half his height and exhibiting what was easily one of the most disturbing patterns of convulsions I'd witnessed in my time on the road. He was still as unstable as I remember him being, although he lacked the muscle of a gang of trolls this time. He eyed me in particular with a special kind of contempt, the kind you'd only reserve for someone who kicked your dog.

"I... would be glad to dispose of this spunky bitch for you, Lord Judas!" he sputtered. I eyed the sky as if I expected it to start raining any second. Syrius' insults were nothing that I hadn't heard before, so I wasn't as knee-jerk about them as in previous occasions.

"'Spunky bitch.' Yeah. I suggest you _fire_ your scriptwriter." It took Syrius a moment to get the joke, but boy was the focused hatred in his eyes worth it.

"'Fire,' huh? I bet you think you're rich, don't you, you vertically-challenged, hack job magician?"

_What the—? Are we back in grade school or something?_

I didn't deem Syrius important enough to stoop to his level of name-calling. _Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words—_

"—you flat-chested, ankle-biting twerp!"

_ —will leave open, infected, bleeding gashes for the rest of my life._

I eyed Syrius and tried to imagine him dead. Unfortunately, it looked like I would have to finish the job myself. Kari stepped back into a defensive position. Seeing him do that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up, because that pretty much told me that he saw no other route out of this.

Judas, resigned to the conflict about to take place, sighed and adjusted his cloak accordingly.


	5. Chapter IV: Judas the Adamant

The atmosphere around us only got more tense with each passing moment, the scent of blood nearly detectable as we began to draw our lines.

Judas was not like his lackey or those other petty creeps. He didn't waste his words. I don't want to admit it, but I was actually feeling threatened by him. His inhuman eyes, his imposing presence, his unyielding will — it was all characteristic of the kind of guy you don't want to cross.

Of course, I wasn't anyone to be trifled with, either.

"Why exactly do you want these artifacts so badly, hm? You don't even know what I have," I said to the man in white, now known to us as Judas.

The shadowy figure brushed back a side of his cloak with a gesture, responding in a flat tone that has since become associated with him.

"That... is something I do not wish to confer."

As he tightened a glove, he added, "This wouldn't be necessary if you were only more reasonable."

I frowned, but even as I did Karius took a step forward, hand on his sword's hilt and ready to defend himself — us both — from Judas' coming attack, which seemed less a possibility and more a forgone conclusion at this point. Syrius looked just as prepared to aid his employer. I'm not one to pick fights (without motive that is), but if I'm pushed into it then I _will_ fight to the end! Only one thing bothered me, and it didn't happen to be Judas or Syrius.

It was the fact that collateral damage was very likely in an enclosed area such as this. I already had a bad reputation for being involved in incidents which always brought some sort of severe structural damage (only one of them was actually my fault, okay!). Another thing was nipping at my mind, but it was rather latent at the moment. I would regret that later.

Judas interrupted my thoughts, speaking up. "I'm a very busy man, so I'll be sure to make this pain brief."

I shifted my weight quickly and Kari took another step forward, pulling his sword from its sheath a third of the way out. Syrius drew another step forward as well, a maniacal glimmer in his eyes. Kari, at this moment, decided to speak for the both of us.

"It'll be you who's hurting, Jonas!"

_ Oh Kari... you dork._

Judas said something lowly. Before I could demand to know what he uttered, he thrusted his right hand outward with an inaudible spell chanted thereafter. My best guess: Diem Wind. There was a gust, and Kari was unceremoniously lifted off his feet and thrown back into a collection of boxes stacked against the outside of a nearby building. As his body broke upon the wooden crates and wrecked them and, probably, their contents, I crossed my arms over my chest and winged them out rapidly in a sweeping motion.

_ "Flare Arrow,"_ was the spell up my sleeve!

Twelve or so spires of flame streaked towards Judas in an erratic pattern. The arrows began striking Judas (hopefully) and the ground around him. These raised flashes of light, explosions, dust, smoke, the works.

None of it seemed to have fazed Judas, however. He walked through the flames and haze, looking ever bit like a demon out of hell. Like a bolt he dropped his right hand to the glinting hilt at his side, and he drew it with like speed, exposing a well-kept broadsword. As he passed, he brandished the cleaving edge towards me, for all I knew meaning to kill. I was quick enough to pull my shortsword from its casing with my left hand to catch the assaulting blade at the corner of my own blade and guard. Parrying the blade raised a shower of sparks as I used the force from my enemy's attack to put me far beside the shaman.

As Judas landed, off-balanced because of my sudden reversal, I took a quick glance behind me. Syrius had apparently thrown himself into a water trough because of a few of my Flare Arrows. He turned a gaze from which all sanity had fled towards me, now illuminated by the growing flames in the area, and seemed to grind his teeth. I couldn't tell since he had that mask of gauze all over his mug.

I turned back to Judas just as he recovered and turned his blade back towards me. "That was very good, Miss Rina... much better than I had expected."

"I pride myself on being full of surprises, Judas," I responded with a grin. Truly, there is no _fully_ knowing what kinds of things I can and cannot do. Not even me. Really. I had it beaten into me (so to speak) that improvising was often the only thing that separated a savvy sorcerer and a _dead_ one.

As Judas and I were about to go into another round of sword crossing, I felt a slight shock through my body. My vision blurred unfortunately for a split-second before returning to normal.

That interference could have cost me my life, but I was lucky; Kari bolted out of nowhere and intercepted Judas' charging attack with his blade, holding off the ruthless magician for being too stubborn to stay down. As long as Kari kept pressing the assault, he'd be okay. It would be a different story if Judas got the time to chant any offensive spells and throw them Karius' way. Kari really didn't strike me as the sort who knew any spells beyond the dizzy and sleepy kind.

The shock was familiar, though. I realized that someone was trying to cast a manipulation spell on me. Thankfully, the bandana I wore was laced with an array of runes warding it along its length. That and what training I already had to resist were more than enough protection against those kinds of spells. It couldn't have been Judas... or was it? I found it highly unlikely since coercion spells require most of the user's concentration. Furthermore, I heard no chant while our blades were tangled, nor did I feel any energy radiate from him. I then surmised that it was my self-proclaimed mortal enemy — yes, the one that was taking the bath in the horse's drinking trough.

_ I knew those trolls were too smart to follow him freely._

Frankly, I felt sorry for the horses that would be drinking out of that trough tomorrow.

"Hold him off, Kari!" I yelled. As I stepped back to leave Kari and Judas to their devices, I turned and held out both hands towards the trough's location without looking first.

_ So Syrius hates fire? Why is he playing with it, then? Especially the fieriest sorceress around?_

_ "Burst Rondo!"_

A hailstorm of red spheres promptly let fly towards my target in a pyrophysical phalanx, meaning to blast its collective prey to the next city block as soon as it made contact. Sure enough, the projectiles struck the soggy Syrius as he was launched out of the trough by the quickly heated waters, coming to a simmer a moment later. He landed not a few yards from me, and he stood shakily, even angrier than before.

"You know what, sorceress? I am getting **sick** of your fire spells!" He cursed below what he thought my hearing range was and only further amused me by it. I shrugged and dropped my shortsword back into its sheath.

"And I'm getting tired of all your verbal abuse! I mean... what did I ever do to deserve it?"

"**SHUT UP!** I'm in no mood to speak, now! Prepare to defend yourself, witch!"

_ Aw, now I'm gonna cry. Well, I guess while we're exchanging constructive criticism..._

"Now _that_ line is as cliché and uninspired as your cape. I mean, what's up with that?"

I couldn't help but chirp confidently as the two of us squared off for a good old-fashioned sorcerer's duel. Syrius' one visible eye quivered uncontrollably as he watched my movements, looking for any sign of a spell being cast. A loud crack behind me caught my attention all of a sudden only to find that it was a beam of wood that gave out under its own weight after smoldering for so long. As the embers rose with a new gust of smoke, I turned while squinting my eyes to shield them from the debris. Fire magic or no, smoke hurts my eyes just as well as the next guy's.

I shouldn't have let that distraction get the best of me, because in doing so my nemesis got the best of _me_. While alert, I would've never thought it possible. He seemed way too incompetent a magician. Of course, now that I was distracted, he went for the low blow and cast one of my own favorite spells on me: Dill Brand. This spell caused the ground beneath me to explode and send me skyward.

_ Whee..._

That was embarrassing. If all the bandits, crooks, thieves, privateers, and brigands that I had done this to had witnessed this, it would've been the end of my powerful sorceress reputation for sure.

_At least until I remind them._

Fortunately, I am far more resourceful than to just let myself careen right into the ground and splatter over the pavement. First, I slowed my descent after reaching the apex of my flight by casting _Levitation_. Syrius' spell had also taken apart the closed business that was beside us, sending a storm of debris into the air with me. A few splinters scratched me, but most of the wood remained intact. This was good, because an impromptu assault was in order.

_ "Chaos String!"_

Casting my hand out while yelling those words sent out a web of thin, magical wires that I could manipulate. Using these two spells simultaneously would tick away quickly at my magic power; thus, I had to make this quick. The strings snagged a wide plank, just as planned, and I pulled it in. After taking a quick glance to check the scene below, seeing it was still filled with dust and smoke from my Burst Rondo, it was highly unlikely that Syrius knew where I was. From what I gathered during our encounters, he seriously underestimated me. I grabbed the reeled-in board and put it under my feet.

So it went that I let both spells fade into the ether, and that left me free falling for the rest of the thirty feet between me and the ground... or, should I say, Syrius' skull?

I fell from the sky with the world slowly spiraling around me, adjusting with the bursts of heated air rising from the ground until I landed the board on Syrius — right on his _head_. The bandaged toadie was promptly knocked out, the board splintering as I got bounced off his form and into the trough — the same one in which Syrius had been dunked in earlier. The only difference now is that I wasn't running and the water was only lukewarm.

I heard Kari's distressed scream followed by a loud crashing. I pulled my head out of the water and looked towards the direction of Kari's voice only to find that his body was imprinted on the sloped roof on one of the street's buildings. I frowned dejectedly and angled my gaze low to find Judas approaching me through the smoke. Poor Kari apparently got Diem Winded (again) and was vegetating somewhere else. I pulled myself out of the trough quickly because it looked like it was just me and Judas again.

... Or so I thought. I found myself unable to take another step forward. When I turned my head to look back, I sighted a sword stuck through my shadow. Further up behind me I could see mummy man favoring his head without attention to my existence. I turned again and closed my eyes as I motioned my hands before my body. From here, I tried to cast a simple Lighting spell to erase my shadow and get free; that is the universal solution for this type of spell, the Shadow Snap. Shadow Snap is a popular Spirit spell that pins the target in place by stabbing the shadow it casts through the astral plane. It's harmless, except in this case where I had Judas approaching me at the same time that I was trapped.

It was too bad — Judas moved like light itself. He streaked by in a blur and forcefully tore the satchel I carried from beneath my mantle. He was quick to undo the bag and pull out one of the god statues — the two most valuable pieces from my latest plunder, both crafted from orihalcon — and drop the sack. I cast the Lighting spell, illuminating the area with a small sphere which I moved to my hind section and in effect freed myself from the holding spell. As I turned, Judas gave the statue he held a harsh blow with the pommel of his sword. Much to my dismay, he broke the thing.

_ WHY?_

Horrified, I immediately protested Judas' actions.

"**Why the hell would you do **_**that!**_"

Judas just stared at the broken husk that _was_ masterful metalwork that would've been worth _hundreds_ of _thousands_ to the right buyer. After a moment, the cold warrior discarded the rest of the fragments on the ground and sighed.

"That wasn't it. Too bad... maybe it's the second?"

As he reached down for the bag once more, I began to chant a full-power Fireball.

_O source of all power; light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand!_

Finishing the chant, a marble of light formed before my body. With a sweeping motion, I snatched the bead of light and brought it over my head. I wound up to hurl the expanding ball of light that hovered soundlessly over my hand. Judas looked up all of a sudden, catching brief glance of my now-menacing spell.

_ My Fireball's power is great enough to melt iron, so get ready for the burn of your life!_

That, however, didn't seem to be what alerted the shaman. He turned to his left and lifted his blade to parry... Kari's! He came to and threw himself at Judas while he was distracted.

_ Well, this is an interesting dilemma._

This was bad, though. Now that Kari was close to Judas, I couldn't throw the Fireball without risking catching Karius in the resulting blast.

_ ... ... ... Oh well! He'll understand in the morning._

_ "Fire... __**ball!**__"_

With the resounding call, I sent the sphere of light forward with a forceful throw. Halfway to its goal, it burst into flames and left bright red and orange streams along its flight path. It quickly covered the ten-yard distance and hit the side of the already-damaged building (the one which had been damaged in Syrius' Dill Brand). It exploded with a deafening blast and an ever-expanding wave of fire, scattering flames all around a certain radius. I smiled at my work when the flash subsided, then did so more nervously when Kari ran towards me from the smoke veil and dropped to the ground, a few strands of his hair aflame.

"Put it out, Rina! _Put it out!_"

"Err... _Aqua Create!"_

A wave of water spiraled up from the ground and soaked Kari, putting out the fire. He laid still, his eyes blank from shock. I raised a hand to my mouth, fearing the worst, but I breathed a small sigh of relief when I heard Kari's breath coming in and out of his mouth in broken, traumatized puffs.

_ That's strange. My fireball should've been stronger than that._

"Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!" I proclaimed to no one in particular. An angry roar, one that was human nonetheless, came from ahead; I looked up, smile faded into a grimace.

"I can now tell why you earned your nicknames, _Rina Erris_..."

Judas emerged from the flames of my spell in a bout of deja vu. I gave him a lowbrow glance from where I stood as I pulled my shortsword out from its sheath once again. I asked him an important question:

"What will it take to kill you!"

_I guess even I can't avoid some clichés._

Ignoring the question completely, Judas took a brief glance down at Kari and shook his head.

"You even jeopardize the lives of your companions," he says in a grunting voice. "In a sense, you are far more ruthless than I..."

_ His logic is not all that distorted after all._ He managed to arouse an inkling of guilt in my heart, but that would have to wait until after I got Judas off my back. Given my circumstances, that wasn't going to be an easy feat. That is what was gnawing at the back of my mind earlier; my magic seemed to be getting weaker with each passing moment. Before too long I would be magically inept and ripe for the picking.

Judas abruptly leapt at me; though his sword was sheathed, he proceeded to disarm me. My left was struck hard as Judas slapped my wrist — my shortsword clanged across the pavement and came to rest against the edge of the sidewalk. His next move was to put me on my back and out cold: a sharp elbow aimed right at your face tends to do that to you.

_ What kind of a bastard is he to try to hit a girl in the face! Well, himself apparently..._

Still, I wasn't about to let him get the better of me, so I bit back the pain I had in my ribs for choosing to land so hard and awkwardly, and I ducked under his hard left, spinning and unsheathing my dagger at the same time.

This time, I made full contact with his side and followed through.

"Ah-HAH!" I exclaimed as I turned and recovered, smiling and waiting to see Judas collapse and favor his side.

He didn't.

"Eh? You're supposed to fall in defeat now, Judas!"

The solemn figure visibly shook his head and pulled his hood and mask back after a moment. The flames illuminated his alien form ominously. The flickering glow of the fire reflected off his silvery hair, and a dull-colored face of stone scowled back at me in frozen disdain. Literally. _Stone_. Facets of darker elements pockmarked Judas' face... because he was a golem. That, or something else entirely.

_Way too sophisticated to be a simple golem._

"What the—?"

"Surprised, Miss Erris? You're not the only one that's full of surprises. Nothing is as it seems to be nowadays."

"You're telling me! How can you be a golem?"

Judas glanced aside, giving his answer. "I'm a chimera... not any mere _golem_."

I lowered my now-chipped dagger, seeing the futility in physical attacks from both testament and personal experience.

_ "A chimera,"_ I murmured. This new fact turned my stomach a little. I thought there had been boundaries — at least _moral_ ones — placed on the creation of chimeras with human subjects. At least that was the declaration from Saillune many decades back.

"But... why?"

Judas pulled his hood and mask back up to their former positions, glaring coldly towards me. "You can blame the Fates for your defeat this night, Rina Erris. They're the ones that gave me this body." He listlessly drew his sword from its casing, the cold steel singing its death song. Judas stared me down, leveling his sword's tapered end with his eyes, both hands on the hilt. "I hope you have no regrets..."

He was in no mood to answer me. The situation didn't look good at any rate. He had a broadsword and I had... a dagger. I didn't know if I could trick him with just _any_ spell, either. At this point, the effects of magical drain were taking their toll on me. I didn't know if I could even cast a Fireball now, much less a Dragon Slave or other Black Magic spell.

"Ha!" I got out of my funk and pointed my dagger at Judas defiantly. "No regrets," I boasted. "I live in the present and for the future — a future that I make. My fate is my own."

As Judas and I were about to finish things once and for all, Syrius' voice pierced the air.

"The authorities are here, Lord Judas!"

"Damn it," Judas scoffed and cursed as he sheathed his blade; he turned his back to me.

"You have the luck of a god. I _will_ return..."

With his once-calm tone dripping with contempt, Judas cast Levitation and flew himself from the ruined scene. Syrius followed behind him as they disappeared behind the billowing masses of smoke.

I dropped to my knees with a deep sigh. Luck was sure playing the cards in my favor tonight.

_ How could I forget? That was too close... I need to hide out somewhere._

My loot and shortsword were not five feet from each other — somehow, the bag had survived the fires of my Fireball despite being worse for wear. Wasting no more time (as I had no intent on spending the night in prison), I grabbed my shortsword and sheathed it along with my dagger. I had no time to secure my satchel, so I looped its strap around my forearm as I grabbed Kari by his underarms.

The discovery of his weight all over again was an unpleasant reminder of when he fell on me. It made my back hurt just remembering it.

_ "Lev...i...taaaationnn..."_

Kari's dead weight was nothing to sneeze at. Despite my higher than average strength, he was still a great burden on me. Spellcasting made it easier, but in the end I would never be able to carry Karius unsupported.

Just as Judas and Syrius had done, Kari and I made our flight from the scene as the township's police arrived at the wreckage.

* * *

"Ow! That stings, Rina!"

Despite my best efforts to treat Kari's burns from, eh heh, _my_ Fireball, it wasn't working out well. Gleaning from Kari's feedback, I just wasn't doing a good job of dressing the wounds and burns in a pain-free fashion.

_ I'll show YOU what stings... mutter mutter._

That, or he was just being a sissy. It didn't nullify the fact that I had nothing to make a decent ointment or oil out of.

"Grr... Sorry, Kar... _again_."

"Jeez, you're a sorceress. Can't you just use a healing spell or something?"

The question prompted a scowl. He took notice. _Darn it..._

"Wha—? Do I _look_ like a priestess to you? Did I ever say I specialized in healing? Do I _act_ anything like a healer should?" I probably tried to sell the lie a little too hard; Kari proved sharper on the matter than I had anticipated.

"You can't fool me. Anyone who knows powerful magic knows at least one healing spell, or so I've heard."

Knowing his stubborn streak by now, I rolled my eyes and gave in to his reasoning with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. I just can't put one past you, can I, Kari?"

As he nibbled on a piece of toast from the breakfast-in-bed I ordered for him, he added lowly:

"And... I know it was _your_ Fireball spell that burned me, Rina." He gave me an unamused glare from beneath his blonde canopy, disgusted in almost every way save permanently.

I was quick to try to defend myself.

"Wait a minute! I was meaning to hit only Judas! Really! Why would I wanna hurt you, Kar?" Only this time, he didn't even respond. He shut his eyes and polished off the toast he was musing over. A moment or two later, I finished the last of the bandages on his forearm and leaned back into the chair at his bedside.

After the cataclysmic events from last night, my Levitation was able to carry both Karius and me to a street not far from an inn. As the block over one started buzzing with human activity, we slipped into the establishment and bought a room under an alias. The innkeeper saw that Kari was injured and took him in free of charge. Resultantly, the two of us were set up for free much to my gratitude. I just didn't let her know that I was Rina Erris. People are quick to believe the slander about me. It's all been sensationalized—the papers and pamphlets will run over anyone's good name for a coin or two.

Anyway.

Earlier in the morning, I had left the inn to do some scouting around town. It was kind of risky without Kari to watch my back, considering how many times he's already protected me, but I figured it was reasonable not to expect an attack in the middle of broad daylight, when the town was the busiest. As long as I avoided any shady alleyways, I would be fine.

The first place I went to was the now-ruined Commerce Street, as the locals referred to it. As soon as I arrived, I saw what I expected: I knew the place would be abuzz with snoopers and distressed businessowners. The mayor, flanked by several high-ranking militiamen and one or two other officials, inspected the damage himself. Unable to keep myself from eavesdropping a bit, I heard the men debating whether or not they should get the Sorcerer's Guild involved.

It didn't look like the town's own forces were able to deal with what they thought was a rogue sorcerer, so that was a fair call.

Essentially a volunteer militia, the town guards seemed to be having a difficult time making an organized reaction to the incidence. Angry store clerks repeatedly shouted down requests for order, and business patrons were similarly upset at being inconvenienced. One of the places that burned down turned out to be a grocer.

And, of course, what disaster scene would be complete without the media? They were there in scads, parchments out and quills collecting statements no doubt embellished with flowery adjectives and thinly-veiled opinions accompanying quotations. Among them was the newest breed in journalists, _news-casters._

News-casters are sorcerers that specialize in the sorts of spells that capture images and then distribute them over distances to others through a series of magical devices. It's still a more limited way of distributing information _en masse_ than print, but there's something to be said for the novelty of it all. The field is expanding, the pay seems decent, and they're organizing into groups that specialize in news-casting information about specific interests. Entertainment, for example. As if my homeland didn't get enough tourism on its own, just wait until people on the fence _see_ what our harvest festivals are like.

It's like a mix between scrying, enchanting, and using the old _Vision_ spell. It's quite innovative, really.

Well, besides admiring the slow buildup to an unruly mob scene, I didn't see anything I was looking for.

My main reason for returning to the scene was to look for Judas. As some have said, _"The perpetrator always returns to the scene of the crime."_

Alas. Not Judas.

Knowing that I had nothing else to stick around here for, I skittered along back to the inn before they started questioning bystanders such as myself... especially those pesky news-caster reporters. They're the WORST of the bunch.

* * *

"Can you walk?"

Kari struggled to his feet, standing shakily before stabilizing. Slowly thereafter, he took a couple of loose steps. The young maid that was tending to Kari with my help — the innkeep's own daughter — smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. Before long she turned to me for a little conversation.

"You're a sorceress, are you not?"

Nodding first, I responded before Kari could after taking a long sip of my tea.

"Yeah," I said before I paused, then I remembered the alias. "Err, Desiree."

_What? I didn't have a lot of time to think after getting in from a fight!_

The girl nodded. "I'm Gwen. Pleased to meet you."

"Uh... that's—UMFF!" As usual, Kari almost screwed everything up. I put a hand to his mouth to make sure that he didn't spit out my real identity. Then again, it was partially my fault for not telling him about the fake name. Maybe I was just being paranoid to be using an alias.

"Hee... Don't listen to him," I said with a light tone. "He's a little out there in the mornings."

The housekeeper, Gwen, rounded her lips in apparent understanding and nodded.

"It's usually so peaceful in this town. What happened to you two was a terrible rarity." She gave us a slight smile, then asked, "Do you have any interesting stories? Traveling sorcerers almost always have something interesting to say."

I wondered what kind of crap those other 'sorcerers' had been feeding Gwen here to make her think that. Not a lot goes on in this region, let alone exploits interesting enough to spin into a story.

"Eh heh. I wouldn't believe most of those tales. Things can sometimes get pretty exaggerated in my profession... especially with stories. Sorcerers just _love_ to gloat."

_I see that look, Kari._

"So I take it that means no?" Gwen said, leaning back a little.

I smiled sheepishly as I answered her. "Nothing of terrible interest, no... Probably nothing you've never heard before, anyway."

The girl grinned, and she leaned in eagerly. Gwen seemed to be enthusiastically curious type. "Try me," she challenged.

"Well. There were a bunch of trolls..."

She then blinked and sighed. "You win, Miss Desiree..."

Taking another look towards Kari, who was again seated on the edge of his bed, the young maid furrowed her brow. "Hey. If you're a sorceress, why haven't you healed your boyfriend—?"

"He's **not** my boyfriend!"

_ Wow, that was kind of loud, wasn't it?_

Gwen was blown off her feet by the force of my yell. The girl staggered to her feet and stepped back, eyes widened. I grinded my teeth behind tightly pressed lips and took a sideways glance towards the door. After a moment, when she deemed it safe to speak, she looked to Kari.

"Then... you're a bodyguard?"

In a proud tone with a beaming smile, Kari sat up the best he could in a body cast, puffing out his chest and holding his shoulders back in a valiant stance; he pronounced his relationship and business with moi:

"Me? Why I swore to be her protector—"

Then he was promptly interrupted by an excited squeal from the young maid.

"You mean... like... _a knight in shining armor?_ That is _sooo_ romantic!"

_ Yeeeeeeeah. Romantic. Sure... I'll spare her the fact that I was the one who dragged Kari off the barnacle-laden bowl the pirates dared to call 'a ship'._

"Still, Miss Desiree," she addressed me, "why didn't you heal Sir Karius?"

_ Sir Karius? That's a laugh._

"Heh," I started faintly. "I _would_, believe me, but... uh..." I scratched my head, eyeing Kari and being very aware of his presence.

I had "forgotten" _exactly_ why I couldn't cast Recovery, the most basic healing spell, on Karius. He would've been better in a matter of hours. My problem here was one that, since women have been using sorcery, has been documented as far back as antiquity can recall. It's an ill as timeless as humanity and magic itself. It is a problem that no amount of science could ever solve. Thoughts become clouded, concentration becomes difficult, and tempers (more often than not) are significantly shortened. Sadly, the state of being I refer to is as unavoidable as age. The phenomenon I speak of is...

_ "Oh. That time of the month!"_

As always, Kari had to make the point, even if he did so without being aware of how inappropriate it was to be excited about it in this particular instance.

Gwen flushed at the mention of it and placed both hands over her mouth. On the other hand, I hung my head so that my bangs obscured my face. What I said about shorter tempers was, unfortunately for Kari, true.

I could cast _some_ spells, but they were weak and barely amounted to more than parlor tricks. I guess I'm better off than a lot of the ladies out there, though; most of them can't cast magic at all during _that day_.

Anyway... Where was I? Oh yeah, trashing Kari.

"**Kari!** How the hell do you know about _'that time of the month'?_"

Indeed, I was quite hacked off at his bringing up of such a touchy subject. You have to be sensitive with a maiden's feelings, right?

_ Don't give me that look!_

Kari wasn't afraid to answer in in the face of my fuming, though, and all the better. I was ready to body check him right out the window, injured or not.

_I still might, depending on what he says!_

"Oh, it's simple. I have two older sisters, and before I left home they decided to tell me to be patient with girls during _'that time of the month.'_ Of course—"

_ Ramble, ramble._ I just stared at him until he finished with a clueless, self-satisfied smile.

"Uh... huh..." I answered with a dry tone. But I didn't know that Karius had any siblings. Huh.

The confidence he wore faded quickly at a thought he must've had, though.

"Um. Rina... what _is_ 'that time of the month'?"

Well. At that, I just sighed and placed my hands over my face.

Gwen caught onto it, too, ignoring the question (probably _also_ on purpose). Through my fingers, though, I saw Gwen turn her eyes on me. "... Rina?"

"Uh!"

"Yeah. Her name is Rina Erris. Didn't you know?"

_ Damn it, Kari. DAMN IT._

"... ... ..."

"... ... ..."

"**KARIUS! YOU DUNCE!**"

* * *

Because of Kari's condition, we couldn't set out that day. A priestess from the local shrine was brought in, however, and she took care of Kari's burns (and cranial trauma) easily. The only problem I had with that is that she requested a donation for her services. Priests call it a donation — I call it a salary. They just make it sound charitous by switching one word with another. I unloaded almost all the gems I pillaged on her.

_Most of them were flawed anyway!_

By the time the cleric came and went, it was already dusk. The sky above became cloudless over the course of the past twelve hours, and it stretched on forever like an endless expanse of blue, orange, and violet. There was also a little red on the horizon thanks in part to the low, ruby sun, repeating its nightly vigil as it had been doing ever since the beginning of time, probably.

The cobbled streets were calming down from the daily rage. Besides the unusual excitement, there wasn't much traffic. I figure it's usually busier than this, but because the commercial part of town was effectively shut down, no one had much to do today. The light breeze, which filtered through the rows of buildings with a low whistle, replaced the harsher sounds of the daytime.

Up in his room, Kari and I had a room service dinner. Our budget made us limit it, though, so we only had three meals and two servings each. Following dinner's conclusion, Kari shook his head and complained about the insufficient rations.

"I'm still hungry..."

"Yeah. It wasn't the spell that healed you so much as your own body. The spell just made that go faster, so you're gonna feel hungry and tired. Consider all this a snack, for now," I said with a consoling grin, patting the big guy on the shoulder. "It'll have to tide the both of us over until I can get us some more money," I told him. "Just don't dwell on how hungry you are; think about how much hungrier you _would've_ been without the meager fare we had!"

Shrugging, he agreed somewhat. It _is_ hard to argue with my half-full, not half-empty logic. "I guess you're right." He laughed. "You can be cheerful sometimes, huh, Rina?"

_ I know, I know. Isn't it just... uplifting?_

"Yeah? Well, heh... it doesn't help to get depressed. I mean how much good is it going to do me slouching around, rubbing my belly, mumbling _'I'm hungryyy'_...?"

Off the subject, Kari gave form to his thoughts.

"I've been thinking... you know, about Jesus and all that..."

_ Eh?_

"It's Judas, Kari."

"Yeeeah, Judo. Anyway, I saw how he was after your treasure. But he just broke it. I mean... that's kind of weird, isn't it?"

_ Try stupid._ I frowned at the mention of the occurrence. My blood boiled at the thought of what Judas did. It's not like I found a finely crafted statue of rare orihalcon every day. Not only that, but I had found TWO of them! I was _seriously_ lucky to get such nice finds.

_ Great, now I'm dwelling._

"Rina?"

"Huh?" I looked up suddenly, emerging from my depression. "Wha—? Oh... I really don't know myself." I drew the bag from under my mantle, thrown carelessly on the floor. I took its contents — an orihalcon sculpture of a dragon, maybe Ceiphied, and a gem-encrusted hand mirror — and put them along the tabletop.

"Judas seemed to be specifically after artifacts. In other words, things that are very rare or one of a kind."

Nodding, Karius followed along. "Yeah..."

Continuing, I picked up the mirror and gazed at my twin as she gazed back at me.

_ Hello gorgeous... erm, oops!_

"He said something like 'that wasn't it.' Maybe by striking it, he didn't mean to break it. Maybe he was looking for something else. Orihalcon is a pretty brittle metal that sucks for weapons and armor if it's not alloyed. The only case where this doesn't apply is when the armor is made to specifically protect against _magic_. An orihalcon breastplate won't do much to protect against a good sword, though." I paused, then pointed at Kari's two-hander, resting comfortably against his bedstand. "—Especially one like yours."

Kari beamed while I thought about this more. It didn't occur to me before my swordsman companion brought it up. I tapped my index finger against my bottom lip, and I put down the mirror gently as I supposed the possibilities.

"Or... there might be something he's looking for _inside_ the statue. There isn't a way to tell since orihalcon is a magic-sealing metal."

Kari suddenly became lucid. _Uh-oh..._

"I've got an idea, Rina!" he exclaimed. "Why don't _you_ break this statue and see what's inside?"

I grinned sardonically.

"Yes, Kari... that's a _brilliant_ idea. You don't know how much I'd _love_ to smash an expensive piece of art like this for some cracker box prize..."

Giving me a confused look, Kari pondered too long, too hard on what I just said.

"Um... why would a cracker box prize be inside a statue?"

I put a hand to my face, covering part of my countenance and obscuring my scowl from the world.

"My point, Kari, is that I'm not going to destroy something so valuable! It could have a golden dragon scale within it for all I care! I'm _not_ breaking it!"

He backed away. "Okay, okay! Settle down... I don't wanna be hurt again!"

I smiled sweetly, leaning forward and patting Kari on the shoulder. He flinched wildly when he saw my arm outstretch towards him, but eased out of it once he saw my purely playful intentions.

"That was an accident, Kari. Don't worry about it!"

I packed my things back into the bag and rolled that up in my mantle. I felt sleep nagging at me, and I figured I ought to leave Kari to get his rest.

"I'm gonna go get some shut-eye. You should, too, Kar."

As if on cue, Kari yawned hugely and flopped back in his bed. "Yeah. No problem. Good... night... li'l Rina..."

His words slurred together, and I shook my head at the diminutive. I left without a further pause, though, mostly because it struck me at that moment exactly where I was going to hide my loot, just in case.


	6. Chapter V: The Shadow of Despair

The inn's air was still as ice, and about as cold, as I traipsed down the lonely hallway with a dim Lighting spell hovering a few feet in front of me. I yawned, tired as hell even as I passed by Kari's room. Though it sounded like thunder, I knew from experience that it was Kari's snoring slipping out from under the door. I ignored it, bitter at the fact that he could sleep comfortably while I had to be awake because of a bad dream that wouldn't leave me alone.

If it were the first time that I had such a dream, I would have just turned over, muttered a few self-reassurances, and gone back to sleep. But no. This was the same as all the other ones before it. Like before, I found myself floating — or standing — in an endless expanse of blue space. It was so vast that everything looked the same from every angle. Then the vastness began to morph wildly, changing its shape around me faster than I could keep up with. It was bewildering, wondrous, and sickening at the same time. When the void stopped spinning, I was home — Zefielia. There is a familiar path that I always used to walk on over long summer afternoons when I was a little kid, and I even felt small in the dream. I couldn't see myself, so I can't be sure.

I came to the hill and crested it like nobody's business. But where my home was, there was a gigantic shadow that seemed to absorb the sunlight and dim the surrounding areas. And it didn't stay there; it grew, passing over almost the entirety of the sky before the sun itself was blotched out by an inky cloud. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening; I couldn't breathe, and it felt like my body was being squeezed. It was when I tried to scream that I just woke up in the darkness of my room. It was all I could do to just banish the gloom with a Lighting spell as soon as I could.

I was out of my room for no reason; I just didn't want to go back to sleep for a while. Not only was the shadow dream disturbing me, but so was the fact that there was someone out there looking for me — Judas. He proved himself dangerous as can be for a random character that shows up in the middle of the night and demands your loot. Most of the ones like that that I encountered beforehand were just idiots looking for a poor girl to pick on.

The nerve of them.

Between being on edge from bad dreams and bloodthirsty stalkers, it was just my luck that I stepped on a rough part of the floor and got a splinter in my foot. I don't handle pain very well, admittedly, and it caught me by surprise. I let out a small yelp, keeping in mind that there were other people on the same floor besides me and Karius. One of these people spoke up softly:

"Hello? Is someone there?"

A silhouette appeared at the window at the end of the hallway, and I recognized her from earlier. "G-Gwen?" I said, keeping in mind that I was still groggy and given over to stuttering and slurring a little.

"What are you doing up, Miss Erris?" she asked me without even answering my question. Well, I guess the fact that she knew my name and wasn't flipping out for better or for worse was proof enough that it was Gwen. I moved my Lighting spell to a more convenient location, just over my head. I leaned sloppily against a wall and looked at the sole of my foot to see the damage done by the vicious floor.

_Yikes, that is one nasty splinter..._

"Miss Erris...?"

"You can call me Rina, Gwen. Really!"

"Oh! Uh, sure, Miss Rina."

_Oy. Is there one of these characters in every story?_

"No no. _Just_ Rina, Gwen. Hang on..."

I picked at the splinter thinking that it just looked bad, but Gwen took me aside after three minutes of trying went unrepaid with results. Gwen guided me down another hallway and into a simple room whose door was unmarked with any number or annotation. It was big enough for the two of us to stretch out, but that's about it. After long enough in here, anyone would go crazy. The window was just _small_ and the bed we sat on was barely a cot. The simple nightstand had only a picture on it. It wasn't hard to recognize the little girl in it as Gwen, and common sense told me that the man and woman in the picture were her parents.

"AHH! That hurts!" I complained, reaching over to try and make Gwen stop by force. In hindsight, she was just trying to help. But moving that splinter around really hurt. Without my magic, I wondered how I would be able to walk long distances with a stupid sore on the bottom of my foot like that.

I guess I just wouldn't. _Ugh._

Gwen evaded my swatting long enough to rip the splinter out with the taut snapping of dry skin as she did. The blood flowed after that, and I could feel my foot tingle unpleasantly while the sole became hot.

"Grr... That's the last time I walk around an old, shoddy inn without slippers," I promised to myself aloud. Gwen just went about the task of bandaging my foot without even expressing discontent over my comments about the inn. I cocked my head to the side and blinked. I thought she'd be insulted or hurt, but she seemed downright passive.

"Uh, is everything all right?" I asked Gwen. To that she looked up and shrugged.

"As fine as could be, Miss... Uh, Rina."

"Hmm. Fine," I replied, shrugging. Hey, she looked bothered. If she didn't want to tell me if something was nagging her, that's _her_ problem. I pulled my foot back as soon as she was finished, and Gwen just watched me as I rubbed it and acted like a little girl.

"So... You never told me why you were up and wandering the inn at—" Gwen paused and looked up at the wooden box clock on her wall. "—three o'clock in the morning."

"Heh," I scoffed. "Is it a big deal? You're up, too."

"Yes, but... I live and work here. You could have been sneaking into someone else's room to... I don't know! Do something horrible?"

_Oh. OH. NOW I see what this is about! Hahaha! Yeah, I hate my reputation sometimes. Many times. All the time._

I tried to look sincerely puzzled and then hurt by Gwen's attitude. "Gwen...? You don't believe all the slander they say about me, do you?" A few moments were as long as I could muster until Gwen's silence invited my sarcastic streak, and a matching grin, out. "Do you _honestly_ believe that I'm really a thousand year-old demon that sustains her youthful looks by gorging myself on the blood of the living?"

Gwen seemed to let her facade give way a little, her eyes finally shifting away from trying to bore a hole through me.

"I suppose not. But Mr. Karius said you hit him with a fireball still. That sounds like the work of the callous lich I've heard cautionary tales about."

"That," I said with a stifled shout, "was an accident!" I muttered below my breath. No use in arguing with the truth, though. I could have said that Karius got in the way of the fireball, but I know that's not true. Additionally, who was she going to believe? The hunk or the evil sorceress?

"Look, Gwen. I just had a... a bad dream, and I needed to get a little exercise to relieve some tension. Trust me, the day has been exhausting and the last thing I need to be doing is plotting someone's murder in the middle of the night."

Gwen raised her brows and looked aside, away from me, not totally or even partially convinced from the looks of things. "... Well. I have bad dreams a lot, too. And I stay up sometimes so that I don't have to deal with them right away. So I guess I can believe you..."

"Oh... I see."

That conversation went nowhere. We spent a few meditative minutes twiddling fingers, giving each other quick glances and cheeky, girly smirks of reassurance, but we were both there. Insecure and at a loss for what else to talk about.

At about the time that I was going to hope for a disturbance to break this tense atmosphere, it happened. It was right then that I wished I could take it back.

I stood up, perked an ear, and shook my head in disbelief. "Oh c'mon! Why now?" Naturally, my mind flew to the worst possible scenario: Judas. It couldn't be a person tripping and breaking stuff in the middle of their dark room after a late-night snack attack or potty break — it had to be Judas or another crook after my treasure. It was the only possibility in my mind.

I hobbled out of Gwen's room on a sore foot and glanced around the hallway to see Karius running out of his room with only his shorts and sword equipped. Our eyes met, and I turned away with a blush hidden by the darkness. Karius didn't seem to mind or care about both of our states of undress, as I was only wearing a nightgown. Idiocy of me, knowing that I was being chased and might've had to leave in a rushed blaze. But it's stuffy enough in the room, let alone it being _one of those nights!_ I needed some ventilation! Maybe the seclusion of the inn gave me a false sense of security. Kari... I expected him to be a dunce, especially after I found out that he left all his equipment in his inn room before running out to fight the pirates the night we met.

_At least he remembered his sword this time._

Tailing Karius, I gave him a hand signal to kick my room's door in. From behind him, Gwen and I peeked out to see a man robed in dark clothing ransacking the room. When he looked at me, I felt a chill run down my spine, even though I couldn't see his features. But the man exuded a malice of power, a force of ill-intent so strong that made me feel sick in my stomach.

"... It's not human," I said involuntarily. In response, it seemed, the man in black extended a wispy hand at us and hissed my name in a raspy voice. Because, you know, the bad guys can never say your name in a clear way. That doesn't accurately show how _bad_ they are. But that it knew my name was startling not only to me, but to Karius and Gwen as well.

"Friend of yours?" Kari asked. I punched him in the kidney as punishment.

"No one liners, dumbass. Just kill him already." Of course, I couldn't be positive that this... thing... was going to be so easy to kill, if my instincts were on the dot. Quietly and discreetly, I glanced up to the rafters very quickly. A glimpse of a satchel assured me that the intruder didn't know that I hid the goods up there. All he was going to find on the ground level was my spare handkerchief.

Karius charged at my behest with a determined huff, sword at the ready. He cleared the distance between himself and the intruder very quickly, and he gave a swipe with the blade that would have likely killed most men in the next second. But this guy, he dodged it, and it didn't even look like he moved! Karius gave a counter swing and only got the same result. He tried again, and again, but Kari still didn't make any progress. He got visibly frustrated, and he backed off when it looked like the shadow was making a counterattack. Whatever it swung with, it pulverized my nightstand in the next second.

"Damn it," Kari hissed. I flinched somewhat, knowing that it wasn't in Kari's nature to curse casually. He put himself between me and Gwen, her a little bit behind me. I looked down. If Kari couldn't do anything against it, we were _screwed_. Me with no magic? Forget it. I would run any other day, but my loot was in there. Not only that, but more importantly my _clothes_.

_I sure as hell am _not_ leaving without that mantle of mine._

"_Paaaatheeeetic,_" said the invader in its strangled voice. Without giving any of us the chance to respond, it raised an appendage vaguely reminiscent of a hand towards us. The night air sparkled and whistled, Karius instinctively whirled his sword about, and that's the last sight I remember before being overcome with pain.

The world spun,

The next thing I heard was Gwen shouting a spell incantation followed by a shearing sound like distant thunder. I heard the low voice howl in pain, followed by a string of hushed curses by the injured apparition. You know, things like _"damn you"_ and _"conniving whelp!"_ Pretty standard fare for vanquished foes.

"Is it gone?" I heard Kari ask.

"Yes," Gwen's voice answered in a low tone.

The sound of Kari's sword being sheathed accompanied Gwen's touch, and her voice whispering, "Oh god." I could feel my heart beating more rapidly as I began to imagine what happened. I didn't have to fill in too many holes, so to speak. I could feel the sticky liquid warmth of blood all over my body. Sharp pains pulsed through my body from where I had been hit. When I finally opened my eyes and glanced up at Kari and Gwen's shocked faces, I just complained: "Any other day... I would have _shown_ that bastard..."

I tried to get up, but the next shot of pain instantly discouraged me from moving at all. So I laid in the same uncomfortable position for a few moments as Kari rushed to get dressed and gather our things.

"Gwen...," I groaned, that alone taking a lot of my remaining stamina. It hurt just to breathe, let alone talk. "Tell Karius to... to look in the rafters in my room."

"Huh? You've got something there?"

"Just do it!" I wheezed. Without further ado, Kari was notified of the bag's location. He retrieved it easily thanks to his height and decided to pick me up from the ground following that. The initial wave of pain from that action was so bad I nearly blacked out. It was like I had knives sticking in me from several spots. But I was too weak to complain about it at the time, so I didn't. I must've looked like a total wimp in Kari's arms like that. I told myself repeatedly that him carrying me didn't mean anything. It's strange how I concerned myself more with being assumed to being Kari's girlfriend than dying, which seemed like a closer dilemma at the time.

* * *

I felt the air hit my face and body. Even the slightest breeze seemed to provoke a new shock of pain, but I just grit and dealt. Many parts of my body and dignity cursed my brain for not remembering that I was being chased and staying dressed for these occasions. I hated being me for once. First Judas, and then someone else tries to shank me for my treasure two nights in a row.

"I'm leading you to the temple," Gwen spoke with a determined tone. "Rina, stay awake. You could die if you let yourself slip away into sleep."

_Great,_ I thought to myself, resigned to whatever fate awaited me. That didn't mean I had to like it, but I got used to the idea of possibly getting killed. Every adventurer gets used to the risks of the road sooner or later.

Shifting my eyes upward yielded the sight of Karius' worried but determined face. I knew he claimed himself to be my sworn protector despite my protestations, so I should have expected this. But the sight disturbed me. I didn't like feeling like I had to rely on other people for comfort or support. For most of my life, I'd been a loner. Now having a partner in crime changed things a lot. It sometimes felt like I was hiding a part of myself from Kari. Why? I don't know. After getting past his thickness, I felt... touched that he was accompanying me.

_Ugh. Too much blood loss, Rina. It's making you delusional._

Every jolt, step and bump made the brisk walk that much more intolerable. But when I felt the force of Kari ascending a flight of steps, I tilted my head to behold the door to the temple. It was twice as tall as even Karius, the door, and it was reinforced with wrought iron and riveted bolts of steel. It looked like it could easily withstand the impact of a rolling boulder. I eyed Gwen, and she eyed me back. She gave me what was supposed to be a comforting smile, I guess, and then she grabbed the simple ring knocker and gave the door three sharp raps. The air stilled, and the door opened inwards towards the temple.

The sight of the doorman was nearly enough to make me jump out of Kari's arms and either run or hand out a beating. Standing there like one of the statues guarding the entryway was a man swaddled in white robes, all featues but his eyes covered with a thick cloak. A broadsword hung from his belt, and his cold gaze fell on us like a dark moon. It was Judas. Judas was there in the temple!

"Jugos!"

"C-can't be," I muttered.

Judas blinked and furrowed his dark brows. "Oh. It's you," he asided with sarcastic, near-perfect apathy. I didn't have the energy to make a cutting comeback to that lame greeting, but I did manage a question:

"What the hell... are you doing at the temple?"

"What? I work with the Clerical League of Saillune." He gave me a quick glance; I thought I saw his form shudder when his eyes grazed over my injuries. "That's not normal," he stammered. Somehow, that comment made my heart sink. Quite a contrast to what had happened between us the night before, Judas ushered us in and looked out behind us as Gwen stepped in. Judas was quick to close the doors as soon as he saw that no one else had followed us.

"Put her on the altar. I'll rouse the priest." And with that sentence, Judas faded into the shadows of another corridor. He moved like a ghost; it seemed, graceful and unimpeded, but it went against his very nature; he was composed of stone, a golem of some sort. No... A chimera. No golem is _that_ intelligent and certainly not _that_ smooth a mover.

My body got uncomfortably cold as Karius put me down. The stone of the altar was like a sheet of frost, and everything began to feel light. I started to panic inside, thinking that I was separating from my body, that I was dying. In my delirium, I saw Judas re-emerge from the corridor that he had vanished into with another white-robed man, this one being significantly older and grayer. He wore the stole of the Flare Dragon, and he bore a book with a holy symbol on its cover. The tome seemed to radiate light from where I laid, and he came closer in what seemed like quick, flitting frames, pictures replacing one another.

He knelt by me, and a few softly spoken words unleashed an outpouring of warmth very much in sensation to water covering my body. It was too comforting, too relaxing, and I fell unconscious with sleep the next moment.

* * *

A ray of sunlight jolted me from my sleep. I sat up in bed with a jerk and looked around the room rapidly. I took my hands and felt every inch of my torso, secondly. No wounds. Yet, my nightgown was covered in dried blood and, to my embarrassment, tattered to immodest shreds. I shamefully covered myself up with the sheets of the bed I was in, sitting there in contemplation for a few minutes. The room was small... almost like Gwen's, except the window was bigger.

After working my courage up for a few more minutes, I stepped out of bed and pussyfooted my way to a bag in the corner of the room. Sure enough, it was my stuff. I wasted no time in getting dressed. At least it was a comfort to be fully clothed once again, and I needed comfort in any way I could get it. As I snapped the last bracelet onto my wrist, I got that feeling. You know, the one in the pit of your stomach that happens when something doesn't go your way and you realize that there's almost nothing you can do about it? Yeah, that one. I realized that the statue wasn't in my bag. By this point, I figured that Judas took advantage of the situation and stole it.

I opened the door and exited the room, trying to look as sullen and depressed as possible. Swinging the door open, I heard a thunk like a rock on a tree trunk, followed by an "Ow!" in no mistakable voice. I took a gander behind the door and beheld Kari, rolling over and holding his head in what looked like the picture of agony.

"Geez, Kari. You're such a baby."

He looked up at me with a hurt gaze, but he managed a smile. "Good morning, Rina," he said through a slightly shaky voice, maybe holding back tears. I did swing the door a bit carelessly, and I hadn't forgotten what he did for me the previous night. _At least I think it was last night. I can't have been out _that_ long_.

"Kari!" I called him to attention. "What's going on? Where's the stuff I told you to get?"

Kari gave me a dull look afterward. It looked like he didn't sleep at all. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked as pasty as the whites of his eyes.

"Huh? Woot? Uh, er..."

"Err, dee, doh. KARI," I yelled and slapped him in the back of the head. Lightly, of course. Predictably, he overreacted.

"Hey! Don't hit me! I just heard something about the statue thingy or whatever belonging to this temple or something!"

"Huh? WHAT?" I had to do a double-take. "Are you telling me that the statue belongs to _this_ temple?"

Kari shrugged, lowering his hands from a defensive posture. "Hey, that's just what the priest dude told Judas."

I blinked. "Oh my God."

"Huh? What?"

"... You said Judas' name right!"

* * *

Kari and I wasted little time in entering the atrium of the temple, a large, airy room with a stylized statue of the Flare Dragon dominating the front center. Smaller statues of various saints and revered priests of the temple lined the room's edges, all of them facing inward with stoic yet lifelike expressions. The most out of place member of the group was a hyper looking young lady whose pedestal read, _"St. Amelia Saillune, Her Majesty Queen of the Holy Kingdom."_

"The Queen, huh...?" I mused to myself. A voice interrupted me.

"She was one of Ceiphied's greatest priestesses and one of Saillune's most beloved monarchs."

I turned around and eyed the priest from the night before at the same time Kari did. After sighting him, I turned my body to face him fully. "Oh, hey. Thanks for, uh, healing me last night..."

The priest did not change expressions and only waved his right hand. "Please think nothing of it. It is my duty as a priest of the Flare Dragon."

"Okay!" I put a fist into a palm and smiled at him. "Now that we're past the formalities, give me the statue back."

The priest's demeanor became less benevolent than we had initially seen him. The elderly man shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that isn't possible," he droned grimly.

I stomped a foot forward, raising my fist to eye level. "Yeah, and why the hell not?"

"Because," the priest answered with a severe edge to his voice, "that statue is an artifact of Saillune's, and it is to be sent back to the capital as soon as possible."

"My _ass_ it will!" I began to weave my left hand inconspicuously, creating the somatic element to a quick spell if he decided to raise an attack. I could feel some sort of murderous spirit in the area, but I couldn't be sure if it was coming from the priest. Was it Judas? No... Judas had an overwhelming presence. I couldn't feel that in the area. The smarter part of me said to give it up, because Judas had probably left for Saillune a long time ago.

_Statue included. Ugh._

"Rinaaaa..." Kari whined and tugged at my mantle like a puppy, and eventually I turned away from the priest and yelled.

"What, Kari?"

He gave me a serious glance, pointing across his chest to the back of the temple. I looked there and my blood froze; it was the shadowy being from last night.

"A Mazoku? Here?" the priest choked, obviously livid with this development. "Blasphemous demon, begone!"

_A Mazoku... That explains everything. I couldn't be sure at the inn, but now I'm certain of it. No human could exude an aura of evil that overwhelming._

_"Rinaaa... Errisssss..."_


	7. Chapter VI: Devil in the House of God

Now this was a tricky spot I found myself in: between a demon and a priest. Neither party seemed very accomodating, but the demon looked like he was in a better position to do something about it.

_"Riiinaaaaa Errisssss,"_ it kept hissing.

_Freak._

Kari reached over his shoulder and brought his sword to eye level a ring of the blade, focusing on the gangly, vaguely humanoid monster before us. I took a quick glance over my shoulder and saw the priest assuming a defensive stance. It was clear that he didn't want to make a bad move and leave himself open to a counter attack. Mazoku could move pretty much anywhere they wanted, for the most part.

After the obligatory square off, I decided to kick start this dance. Hit it!

_"Bomb Split!"_ I shouted, and from my hand I launched a small fireball about the size of an apple. The Mazoku gathered the tattered ribbons of darkness that composed its clothing and whooshed upward, evading my _distraction_. I'm not so uneducated in Mazoku that I would expect an elemental shamanism spell to harm it! As I had hoped, the priest followed up that spell with a more reliable Mazoku repellent:

_"Elmekia Lance!"_ A flash of light followed his incantation, and a spear of light shot over Kari's and my head to hit the airborne demon. With a howl similar to yesterday's, it arched over in the air and fell to the stonework floor like a bird that had been brained with a rock.

"Stand back, sorceress!" the priest shouted at me, stopping me from approaching the fallen fiend.

"Eh? What the—?"

"Aiyeee!"

Kari and I dove in opposite directions as a searing blast of white light whooshed past the two of us like a dragon's breath, but on a much smaller, humanish scale. Banging my left, thankfully armored shoulder against a pew, I looked back as a curse slipped from my tongue.

"_Elmekia Flame?_ You could have killed us!" But even as Kari stood up, knocking over or shoving a few of those benches, the priest did not even seem to care about us messing up the temple's worship space. I followed his tensed glare to the spot where his spell had allegedly landed. There was nothing there anymore.

I reached over behind my head and scratched at the base of my neck. "Man, why the hell is he after me?" I continued thinking aloud while Kari approached me, the feeling of danger slowly subsiding. "I don't _think_ I've pissed any demons off."

"The Mazoku have no need for a reason to attack humans, vulgar girl," the priest grumbled as he walked by. He sure wasn't turning out to be the mild healer that we had seen when we first got here. "The Mazoku only see us as sheep that they can play with or abuse as they wish to. It is the duty of Ceiphied's priests to keep these beasts from having their way."

I gave the priest a malcontent glare, fed up with the high and mighty attitude he had towards me. "Nice speech, gramps. Did you write that one yourself or is it in the priest's handbook?"

"Insolent girl..."

"Rina, be respectful to your elders..."

"Shut up, Kar."

Any appreciation I had for the place was gone by now. As I began to look for the door to get out, I heard the whoosh of something rapidly passing me by. A powerful wave of evil force almost physically pushed me aside, and it was only by that that I evaded another deadly injury. From the corner of my eye, I caught the glinting of what looked like tiny knives screeching through the temple's air.

"No—!" Kari tried to warn the priest, but it was too late. He was hit with several of the projectiles, and his blood spattered sickeningly across the temple's altar. His face pale and frozen in shock, the priest slumped across the altar and tumbled to the floor. I snarled, angry at the cowardice that the Mazoku exhibited. I stepped over to the priest's side alongside Karius, and he bent down to the man as I kept a look-out in case that he tried to do it to one of us next.

"I-I was carel-less...," the priest huffed through choked breaths.

"Settle down, holiness," Kari murmured. I was quickly getting frustrated at being unable to sense the demon's presence. I _knew_ he was there, but he was hiding at the same time. If even the priest couldn't sense him, though, what made me think that I could?

_No... I can't doubt myself now. I said I could show that bastard any other day, right?_

I waited a minute, and there came the laughter. It was an obviously evil laugh, made in a voice that sounded like razor blades dancing merrily against a chalkboard. That cackle slowly echoed across the halls of the church. The patience with which it roiled in the air was maddening, almost as if its intent was to make us go insane.

Then, I felt the malignant aura. _There,_ I thought, reflexively motioning my hands into a fluid gesture.

_"Hell Blast!"_ I yelled, forming a black lance in my right hand and aiming it towards the shadows where I felt the aura spilling out from. But then what I saw froze me in mid-throw.

"Gwen!" Kari shouted. Kari's shout came almost as a _cease and desist_. If he had not yelled Gwen's name, I probably would have followed through with the motion and sent this spear of so much negative energy through her suspended form. It's a spell whose only purpose is destructive offense — anyone hit directly with this spell is lucky to live.

_"Stop thissss foooolishnessss,"_ it hissed at us. _"Yooou huuuumanssss cannoooot destroy the Mazokuuu..."_

"Yeah," I quipped, voicing my reply to seem like I was agreeing. "We're just sheep... that you can do with us as you wish."

_"It isss asss the fooool prieeeest saaaaaid. Look what hissss actionssss have brought upon hiiiiim..."_

By now, the Mazoku had done good and well in pissing me off. He knew I could destroy him, _easy_. Why else would he be using Gwen as a shield? If I had thrown it, the battle would continue... though at the expense of Gwen's life. This Mazoku had a complex motive, a reason for taking a hostage. That is not characteristic behavior for Mazoku...

Presently, Kari was going to try an assault with his sword. With Gwen in the way, though, I had to call him off of it. "Stop, Kari. A sword won't hurt it."

"Eh? Why not?"

"It's because it isn't really there." I successfully confused Kari. He tilted his head and furrowed his brows. I could almost hear the gears in his head grinding to a halt, trying to comprehend how a Mazoku could and could not be there at the same time.

"It's really just a ghost, and a pretty mouthy one at that," I muttered with a smirk, trying to get the Mazoku to drop its guard. It laughed with the same rasping voice.

_"Youuuu are entertaininnnng, Riiinaaaaa Errisssss. A mere ghoooossst cannot accomplissssh the wondersss of our raaaace."_

"Whatever, dude," I retorted with a dissmissive wave. Honestly, the monologuing was old. Really. "Don't you have a name? You know, for when I tell all my buddies about how I defeated you in epic fashion."

_"My naaame in yooour fooolissssh tongue isss 'Ein.' Now tell meeee... Where is the sssstatue yooou haaad, giiirl?"_

I grinned and laughed, glancing at the menacing spell in my hand. "Yeah _right_. Like I'm telling you? Over my dead body."

_"Ooor thisss girl'sss..."_

Kari and I grunted one after the other. The prospect wasn't good to either of us. I don't know why a Mazoku would have an interest in an orihalcon statue that belonged to Saillune, but it could not _possibly_ be a good reason. It was of obvious importance to Saillune, and I intended to find out why.

_"Nno... s-stop."_ Kari and I whirled around. It was the priest, on his knees and using the altar for support.

_"HAHAHAAAA. How noooble for liiivessstock. A fiiighter to the ennnd."_

_"Let... the girl... go,"_ the priest huffed. I gave him a disbelieving, unapproving look through my scarlet eyes, not changing expressions otherwise. If he told Ein, as it was called, that Judas had the statue, then it would mean that Judas would get hunted down. And if Judas was already in Saillune, it would mean that whoever has an interest in the statue — be it Ein or a human master using him — would need to get close to the most heavily protected kingdom in the world. It would have been easy to just let the Mazoku skitter along, but I had no guarantee that he would leave Gwen unharmed. That, and he tried to kill me. Ein made it personal.

... _Especially_ because of the way it talked about us humans. Where's our pride?

_"Don't try to stop me, sorceress,"_ the priest wheezed. I snorted and shrugged, letting my spell dissipate.

"Fine. Go ahead, _holiness_."

The priest ignored my sarcasm and sang like a canary. In a minute or so, the priest just divulged everything that he was hiding from us... to a _Mazoku_. That was as much an insult to my good intentions as could be! A man of the cloth just yaps it all off to a being of darkness and he never had the intention of telling me what went on. _Jerk_.

_"Haaa haaa haaaaaa. Thisss isss why you humansss are weeaaak. Your emotionsss betray yoooou."_

Judging from what the priest said, Judas was probably already across the border of Saillune. As I pondered this, Ein dropped Gwen from about five feet up and disappeared through the vaulted ceiling of the temple, laughing sinsiterly the whole way. Now he was completely gone without a trace, save the echoing cackle in our ears.

The priest collapsed in a pool of blood, but when we tried to help him he struggled and pointed at Gwen. Taking the hint, I left Kari to tend to the priest while I vaulted a few benches and slid over to Gwen's silent form. With held breath, I checked Gwen's life signs.

A tense moment elapsed, and I let that breath go. My heartbeat slowed and I sighed again in relief. "She's alright. A little bruised, but she's not hurt badly." Putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder, I looked over to Kari and the priest. The priest kept shaking off Kari's attempts to help him, and by that time I was fed up with it.

"Priest, you had _better_ be grateful we were here—!"

"Silence!" he roared with a voice that I was almost sure he couldn't manage in his state. "Silence, black sorceress! If you hadn't come here, none of this would have happened!"

"Oh," I said with a dejected tone. "OH," I repeated, this time dejected and sarcastic. "So now it's _my_ fault that Ein wanted the statue." I crossed my arms and walked over to the priest after putting Gwen in a more comfortable posture. Simply, there was no way I could carry her. "Do you have any idea what real Mazoku are like? They don't desire things _like that_. All things considered, Ein's not a very powerful Mazoku himself. Guys like him would rather skulk in the shadows and feed on our miasma instead of coming out into the open and attacking for a statue _like that_." I tossed my head, throwing my hair over my shoulder. "He's working for someone who wants the statue. Well, tough for that bastard; _I_ want that statue, too, and _I'm_ gonna get it."

"Heh," the priest coughed, having little to say to my analysis. "Then you'd better run before the constabulry get here... _Rina Erris, Harbinger of Misfortune_."

I growled as I had insult added to injury. If the priest only healed me out of a sense of duty, it seems. At the very least, he figured I was human. You wouldn't think so with a title like _harbinger of misfortune_.

"He's gone..." Kari whispered in a voice that barely carried across the empty church. I shook my head in regret and pity. The priest may have been an ass, but he saved my life. I owed him at least _that_ much.

"Then there's nothing more we can do here, Kar. We have to tail Judas and hopefully get to him before Ein does. We have to get to the bottom of this."

"Right," complied Kari. He picked up his sword from the ground and dropped it into its casing on his back. Together, the two of us burst out of the temple at a full dash. I wanted no part in what was doubtlessly going to be a heated questioning in the temple. Without looking back, Kari and I headed for the main eastern road — the one that would lead us right into the heart of Saillune.

* * *

For several days nothing out of the ordinary happened. We had put that town and all its bad memories behind us in two hours, but the lessons and revelations we took from there were not so easy to shake. We were in Saillune now, having made great time thanks to my ability to cast _Raywing_, but we had seen no trace of Judas.

The images of the shadowy figure in Zefielia still tormented my mind. Nightmares are supposed to be a manifestation of your worst insecurities. In this dream, I couldn't touch him... and eventually all the misses made me cast the _Dragon Slave_ at the end. I didn't know what happened then, because it just shifted into another nightmare. Why can't I have any _pleasant_ dreams?

"Ugh... not again."

Kari and I were sleeping a ways off the main road to avoid unwanted visitors. I eyed him — again, jealous at the fact that he could sleep undisturbed — while I couldn't get a wink. The fire I made for our camp had since smothered itself with its own ashes and only hissed lowly, thin ribbons of smoke rising from the pile of gray dust in the middle of the charred twigs and sticks. I sat up straight, my head spinning with grogginess as I glanced around the nighttime atmosphere.

I heard noises that were not normal for nighttime creatures. I know that crickets make those loud chirping noises by rubbing their legs together, but I highly doubt that they can also make the sounds of swords snagging and clashing against one another. My sleepiness wore away in lieu of curiosity, and knowing that it could be dangerous I roused Kari.

"Kar, wake up."

He rolled over reflexively. I shook him again, repeating the same line. He mumbled some gibberish this time, but still no wakey. I rolled my eyes and shook him violently until he woke up with a scream.

"OW OW OW!"

I fell back in surprise and rolled away, eyes wide as saucers. "K-Kari?" I squeaked with a small smile. "Are-are you... okay?"

Kari stood on one knee, the other leg hobbling behind as he clutched at his thigh. "I... I pulled a muscle!"

"..." I just stared and sighed.

That moment was soon engulfed in flames; a stray fireball came roaring out from the depths of the woods we were in, striking a tree that was just behind me. Heat licked at the back of my neck, and a flare of light blinded me to my surroundings for a second. Reactant to danger, Kari regained his compsure, even if he had to be ready to fight hopping on only one leg.

"Who's out there!" I yelled into the darkness. At first there was only silence, but then we heard a familiar voice.

"Get back!" The voice was then drowned out with a series of sword clangs and explosions.

"You know, Rina... that sounds like—"

"—Yeah! It's Judas!" I ran by Kari, signaling him to run after me. The poor guy tried, but it wasn't too important at the moment. At least I hoped. Using a tree for cover, I peered out from behind it with a hand behind my back. A chant was on the tip of my tongue in the event that I saw someone who was _not_ Judas, since if it wasn't Judas then it must obviously be who he was fighting. Flawless logic from a flawless genius!

A flash of a white cloak fluttered among the trees, and it was off; I stepped out from behind the tree and flung out my hands, pressed together at the wrists.

_"Flare Bit!"_

A storm of small flames phalanxed from my hands at a high speed. As each one of the tiny fireballs struck something, it released a flash, a bang, heat and force. It was like taking a good sock in the face, really. And after that, there were the burns to deal with. If you were sensitive to smoke, there was that, too. Overall a pretty nifty spell, if I do say so myself.

A sharp crack emanated from the dark woods, and a whip composed of fire thrashed out _right at me_.

_Well, I guess that wasn't the greatest idea in the world. YIPE!_

I dove out of the way and avoided a direct hit, only getting pelted by the acorns that fell from the tree, which was not as lucky as I was. The whip roiled like an ocean wave and was about to retract, but Kari — timely, meddlesome Kari — entangled the glowing whip with his sword and pulled hard. He successfully yanked out the perpetrator as if he was just fishing.

"... YOU!" I screamed. It was Ein, our Mazoku friend from the temple. I checked my temper and forced my concentration into the spell I was made to drop at the temple, for arisal of hostage.

_You can't hide this time, you shady bastard_.

_"Hell Blast!"_ The spear of darkness from before crackled into my hands, black lightning streaking up and down my commanding arm. I hurled the attack without a second thought, and I scored a direct hit. The Mazoku let out an agonized howl and, much to my satisfaction, began to disintegrate.

_"DaMN yOUuu RiNAAA eRriSSSss!"_

I watched Ein thrash about in its death throes, as disturbing as it was. I _deserved_ to see the demise of this jackass after all it put me through in the space of one night. It wasn't very clear, but the dark rags first tore away from his wiry body. That just didn't turn out to be a body at all, but instead a mass of serpents tangled together in the rough shape of a human creature. When Ein's body and presence finally melted away in the darkness of the night — this time forever — I dusted my hands off and slammed them into my hips.

"Just desserts for crossing Rina Erris! HA. HA. HAAA!"

Yeah, payback's a bitch, as they say, but something didn't feel right. For all the trouble that Ein had caused us, this was _far_ too easy. One spell to kill him? Well... no, not just one spell. Ein took a spell from Gwen, an Elmekia Lance, and then my Hell Blast, which is probably the most powerful of the three. I assume he avoided the priest's Elmekia Flame, as that would have probably destroyed it easily. From the way Ein's form seemed to have only the barest amount of consistency, I thought I could safely assume that Ein was but a weak Mazoku and very dead now.

Kari shook his head lightly, walking ahead of me as if I wasn't there.

Just when I wasn't expecting anything else, the trees then parted and the area lit up bright as day. I raised my head, my mouth just _gaping_ open. Before I could say anything, there was a deafening roar from the huge creature that had just appeared before us.

"What the hell is _that_?" Kari screamed.

Among the sharp crashes of its feet on the ground and the snapping of whole tree trunks, I couldn't be sure if Kari heard me. But I screamed back at him, recovering from the near-heart attack I got from the beast's arrival. "It's a Lesser Demon!"

Poorly named, if you ask me. Lesser Demons were called such because they're really just the brute and muscle that Mazoku and some sorcerers like to summon up to do their dirty work for them. Luckily, the right spells make these wolfish, 15-foot tall creatures pretty easy to take down. I wish I could say it was as easy for a swordsman with no magic.

Unlike Mazoku, Lesser Demons have a real physical body. This means that elemental shamanism will work on it just as well as any astral attack would!

I let Kari play distraction since I figured he could handle it; he's a much tougher cookie than I could hope to be. At first, it was pretty easy from looks. The demon looked confused, its actions random. It sometimes stopped to look around, as if we weren't the main focus of its attack. After a second of watching this, I figured it out.

_You poor bastard. You've lost your daddy, haven't you?_ Doubtlessly, it was Ein who summoned it up to help him with fighting Judas. But now that Ein was gone, the Lesser Demon had no purpose; it was lost.

I chanted a spell while Kari evaded the demon's swipes with all the grace of a drunkard (his thigh must have still hurt from the pulled muscle), and I raised my hands above my head as Kari got caught in its grip. The poor guy sunk his sword deep into the monster's wrist, but it didn't drop him and only belted a ferocious bellow into Kari's face.

"Rinaaa!" he screamed frantically. "Some help, please!"

_"Burst—!"_ I started to shout, but I never finished. From one of the adjacent trees, a white blur flew out of the foliage like a dove in flight. It whirled gracefully, cutting a stunning silhouette as it brandished a blade. The sword in its hand gave off a menacing red glow, and it was with a deft flick that the Lesser Demon's head flew off like a rag doll's.

Both Kari and the new figure dropped as the Lesser Demon fell apart at the joints, each piece turning to dust before it hit the ground. Kari landed with a crash, his sword sticking into the ground tip-first. The figure in white landed on its feet without so much as buckling at the knees. I dropped my spell and glared ahead at the figure.

_"Stop,"_ he spoke in a commanding voice as he arrived by Karius' side.

Kari was held at sword point.

"I don't think so!" I spat, chanting a fireball as quick as I could. Somehow, the other guy finished his first and held it at eye level with his free hand.

_... Damn! He's got both of us in check._

"Judas," I muttered.

"I should have known that you wouldn't give up this pursuit, Rina," he replied with a voice devoid of emotion. "I've had to contend with Mazoku and monsters, and now a crazed sorceress?"

"Enough with the rhetorical questions, Jude!" I complained. "Just what is going on here? Do you _actually_ work for Saillune?"

Judas tilted his head, a tuft of silvery hair poking out from under his hood. "What reason would I have to lie to you, especially with the two of you in a position like I have you?"

_He has a point,_ I thought.

"Don't follow me." Judas retracted his stance and sheathed his sword. He threw his fireball at me, though, to which I countered with a hasty Windy Shield. Wincing through the flames and the heat as it dissipated, I saw Judas disappearing into the foliage.

_Not this time!_ I hissed in my mind.

"Move, Kar!" I shouted as I ran towards him.

"But I'm sleepy—ACK!"

Not in the mood for Kari's bellyaching, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and chanted a good flight spell.

_"Raywing!"_ Both Kari and I were enveloped by a globe of swirling air. From there, I could control our movements pretty nimbly. As we lifted off the ground, I directed our motion high above where I saw Judas vanish. I scanned the ground intently.

"... There!"

A small white figure was dashing through the woods faster than any human could. The fluidity of his movements seemed almost like an illusion, like they weren't possible. More impressive still was that he could do this while being composed of stone.

Kari clung to my cloak as tightly as I could imagine, and his head was close to mine — too close. I headbutted him so he would get the clue, but I think I hurt myself more with that action than I did him. All I got from him was a modest _Ow_. But before the idea of throwing him out of the effective range of my spell fully formulated itself, a bright white glow on the horizon grabbed my attention and dragged it out, kicking and screaming.

"... Whoa..." Kari whispered, taken by the sight.

"You're telling me," I replied with a short nod. Before the two of us sprawled the Capital of White Magic, Saillune City, in all its glory. The outline of its walled layout glowed with intermittent lamps, and the tallest buildings were clustered at the center with the royal palace in the middle of it all. The whole city sparkled with a white shine that looked as if it could drive the blackest hearts to the shadows whence they came.

"A beacon of light in a troubled sea of time," I whispered, quoting a book that described Saillune City as such. The whole thing went over Kari's head, as he was picking his nose the next instance. With a look of disgust I began to descend, but that in itself was cut short.

A massive volley of Flare Arrows let fly from the ramparts of Saillune City's outer walls. I laughed nervously at first, because I believed that they _had_ to be aiming at something else.

But no. _We_ were the targets.

_Oh my God! Why would they— Why would Saillune—?_

The last thing I saw was a cloud of fire as the air itself lit up with explosions, noise and force. The world flipped on its axis, the horizon doing cartwheels as the hexagram-layout city got thinner and thinner until we couldn't tell line from curve. I felt my back pop painfully in at least five places, and I let out a whimper in the thicket we landed in.

"I'm... alive," I murmured weakly, but cheerfully, in spite of myself. Two near-death situations in the same week. What are the odds? As every bone in my body cried out for want of aspirin, my fading eyesight caught a white figure approaching us.

_Like... a dove..._

And the world went dark around me.


	8. Chapter VII: Saillune Disgraced

The sound of a crackling fire woke me up. Again, I found myself, for the great sorceress I am, in a world of hurt. At first I don't remember just how I wound up where I was, but then I remembered Saillune, and the array of exploding arrows that knocked both Kari and me from the sky. I rotated my arms and let out a sigh of relief — relief that they weren't broken in eight places.

_Thank the gods. But... where am I?_

I opened my eyes. Well, one of them. The other pretty garnet was sealed shut by heavy bruising, it seemed. I didn't try to open it again; it hurt enough the first time. Just moving in the slightest indicated to me that I was on a soft mattress, probably stuffed with downy feathers. It was kind of weird; usually I didn't find beds this soft in most inns, let alone random shacks that you wake up in after falling maybe eight stories from the sky, give or take. It was probably only because of my Raywing spell that I'm alive.

The familiar rumbling across the room was unmistakable. To a small measure of relief, I saw that Kari too was still alive. Even then, he was probably in a similar state as I was, bruised and battered and likely exhausted.

Being the stubborn klutz I sometimes am, I staggered out of the bed I was on and looked for a mirror. While I had no luck with the mirror, I found that I still had my sword within reach, under the bed I was placed in. I unsheathed that, and sighed at the ruination of beauty it reflected. My right eye was as dark as my hair. Cuts and scrapes criss-crossed my face. Without looking, I could pretty much guess that the rest of my body looked like this. Sheepishly, I looked down to behold my clothes torn in several spots. Though they weren't totally unwearable, they were still rendered officially _tacky_.

I sheathed my sword in its scabbard and just dropped the whole belt set on the floor, letting it clatter over the wood. Kari snorted in his sleep and tossed violently in the tangled sheets of his bed. His scale mail breastplate laid on the ground under his bed as well.

_This is all a little too convenient,_ I thought as I looked at the fireplace. I hoped to myself as I slipped my boots off that this wasn't going to turn out like those stories where the heroine finds herself in a plush position only to realize that it's her prison now. I didn't know why I was worrying; Kari certainly seemed to be fine with the idea of being here. He was probably thinking more deeply right then than he does when he's awake.

_Well, if I'm gonna be stuck here, I have to fix that nasty shiner on my eye at least._

_"Recovery,"_ I mumbled, and my hands let off a warm glow. I held my cupped hands to my face in much the same way one would hold a hot towel or ice pack to a problem area. But this works much better, trust me. After a minute or two, the swelling had gone down enough so that I could see out of both eyes again. At the same time, the smaller cuts probably closed up as well. I continued healing myself for about ten minutes until I started feeling like a break was in order.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any stranger, the door across from the foot of my bed — the only door — flew open. In danced a young girl carrying a wooden tray with two bowls. She looked around my age, maybe older, and she wore simple clerical vestments comprised of a green tunic, white mantle and loose pants. Her hair was bobbed in a familiar fashion, though not exactly as I'd seen, and her eyes were a bright blue that made the sky seem dim. The most striking feature was her face.

"... Amelia?" It just fell out of my mouth. She looked _exactly_ like a younger form of Saint Amelia. Shorter, maybe cheekier, but otherwise the same. The girl looked at me curiously, and I suddenly felt like I was placed under a hot spotlight.

"Huh? Amelia?" She paused as a small smile curved up on her lips. "... Do you mean Saint Amelia?"

_... She gets this a lot, apparently..._

"Uh, yeah..." I replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head. "Hey, who are you really? What am I doing here!"

The girl skipped over to my bed and sat herself down on it. Her smile was contagious, if only because it was there. I know _I_ wasn't feeling like a million gold coins. I'm a recovering skydiver, after all, and a weirded-out one at that.

"My name is Emiliana, but people think I look like Saint Amelia. So they call me 'Emilia!'"

_Talkative, ain't ya..._

"Okay... 'Emilia,'" I repeated to commit the name to memory. Sometimes I'm bad with names. For me, faces are an easier thing to remember than names. Family reunions were as embarrassing as you could imagine them to be. For a ten year-old, that is. In the meantime, I eyed the bowls that Emilia had. There were exactly two, and they were filled with a brownish-yellow liquid of thick viscosity. It wasn't too appetizing to look at, but it smelled... enticing. Additionally, my stomach was roaring. I would eat grilled dirt at this point if I had to.

"Say," I started slyly, "is that stew..."

Emilia followed my gaze down to the bowls and looked back up, beaming. "Yeah! I made it for you and the knight with you!" I grinned in spite of the impression that Kari gave off. A sword and armor doesn't make a knight, people! Of course, Kari had a unique brand of chivalry — genuine chivalry — that, while sometimes patronizing, I often found charming and convenient. He could make a girl feel like a lady, so that made him more knightly than some of the knights out there, alright.

_He doesn't really have the graces to be a knight, though. Eheh._

I took the bowl that Emilia handed me along with a wooden spoon. The steam coming off of the surface of the liquid filled my nostrils with a familiar scent. _Mmm... beef. It's what's for dinner._ I dug in without a second thought.

"So, Miss?" I focused Emilia in my eyesight, eating without looking at the stew. "What's _your_ name?" she asked with a smile. I swallowed hard, the scalding mass of meat and liquid that had gathered in my mouth giving a pleasant burn to my throat as it traveled to my stomach.

"Ahh," I huffed, then continued. "My name's Rina," I stated plainly. I couldn't add a flourish, a bow, a curtsey or any of that flamboyant crap at the moment. As it turned out, there was something more important at hand than showboating — dinner. "This stew isn't half bad," I complimented, meaning it whole-heartedly. Emilia smiled even brighter than she already was, her confidence aroused by the positive criticism.

"R-really! I'm so glad!" Emilia cheered. "I thought I couldn't make those bitter turnips work for food..."

I felt my stomach turn at that point.

_Bitter... as in SPOILED?_

"Huh? Is something wrong, Miss Rina?"

As I placed the bowl down on the tray that Emilia had in her lap, I only gave her a pained smile. "Nah... I'm just," cough! "Just pacing myself. Yeah." I nodded briskly.

"Oh. Okay! Did you enjoy it?"

_Clue much?_ But I didn't want to be too rude. Not yet, at least.

"Y-yeah! I guess..."

"Hmm... There's still half of it left."

"I, uh, have a small stomach?" I patted my flat belly, which seemed to roar in complaint to that falsehood.

"So you aren't gonna eat the rest of that?" It was Kari speaking up as he rolled over in bed. I saw his face and grimaced, chuckling instinctively to drive away any expression of disgust I may have had on my own face. Like me, he was all cut up. But both of his eyes were blackened and swollen shut. His hair was a tangled mess of sunny threads, and the huge knot just over his right eye was the cherry on top of it all.

"Kari!" I cooed, "you look like an ice cream sundae!" I bluffed, obviously lying. Emilia gave me a curious, brow-raised look as I hobble-danced over to Kari's bedside.

_... He looks awful._

"... What did you do this time, Rina?" Kari asked, looking as if he was, eh, looking at me. I wasn't entirely sure if he could see me, what with those two black patches where his eyes should be and all.

"Me? Nothin'. Really!" And it was true! Although in hindsight maybe I should have left that 'really' out of the end commentary; it sounded suspicious enough without endorsements. I guess you could call it a habit of sorts. _Sigh_.

"So this knight's name is Kari?" Emilia asked with an innocent ring to her tone. I gave Kari an unsure look regarding his 'knighthood'; I never really gave it serious thought that he might actually be a knight. But Kari, as far as I could tell, looked just as unsure as me. Or rather, he didn't look like he was paying attention. His fingers busied themselves with the loose threads of the sheets and his mouth hung agape, a small trickle of drool running down his throat.

_Totally classy and knightlike, Kari!_

"Actually," I answered for my salivating partner, "his name is Karius. I just call him Kari because I don't want to bother pronouncing the 'us' at the end most of the time. It seems a little too stuck up a name for someone of his age. Heck, sometimes I even call him just 'Kar.' And if he's a knight, it's news to me. I found him drying up on a pirate ship."

"I see," Emilia answered as if this was the most normal thing in the world to her. As she didn't speak any further, I thought it was time for an obvious question.

"Is this your house?" I said to Emilia. The girl didn't think much about her answers, apparently, getting up and just skipping over to Kari's bedside. As the scent of food came within his range, his nostrils flared and he angled his head toward the tray that Emilia was carrying. As Emilia set down and guided Kari to a sitting position with a hand, she shook her head to answer my query.

"No, actually. I'm just hiding out here."

"Huh?" I puzzled. "Hiding out?"

Emilia smiled broadly, not seeming to care about my intrusion into her life. Well... she sort of took us in, from the looks of things. Or at least took care of us. Somewhat.

"I know it must be a strange thing for a member of the Saillune royal family to do, but—"

I slipped off the bed's edge, banging my head against one of the bedposts. Incredulous, I shouted.

"You're _kidding_ me!"

I heard a thud familiar to a body hitting the floor just outside the door, but it was much deeper; more like a cinder block falling over. I glanced to the door as I gathered myself from my shocked pile on the floor.

_"Emilia..."_ came a growl from behind the door.

"Uh?" I canted. The door creaked open without much ado, and in stepped an all-too familiar sorcerer.

His name I knew, and it slipped my tongue like so many clichés: "Judas!"

Kari panicked and aimed to draw his sword that wasn't there, knocking over a bowl on Emilia's lap. Fortunately, it was empty save for the trace ingredients left by Kari at the bottom of the basin. Emilia jumped up on instinct, spilling the other bowl of stew to the ground... or onto one of Kari's arms I should say. Some of the scalding liquid spattered my face when Kari leapt up over the opposite bedside hollering bloody murder, but I was too distracted to care for the moment. I stroked my chin thoughtfully, even as the mattress flew up and the bed threatened to fall apart.

_This situation... just got really interesting_.

Judas watched the debacle behind me unfold, lowering his gaze somewhere in between. I thought I could see one brow quivering, but perhaps it was a just a trick of the light. His arms, as usual, were folded tightly across his chest and his clothes were still the same white robes that we had always seen him in. He opened his mouth, speaking intensely to the three of us. "Great. Now I have two more clowns to babysit."

_Babysit? Clowns? Where I come from, those are fighting words, buddy!_

"Hey, _I_ never asked to be rescued!" I complained.

"Right," Judas replied. "You kind of _couldn't_." He glared off to a side, mumbling. "You want to thank Emilia for having me drag in anyone that was hit by Saillune's overzealous defenses."

"Just what is it with the change of heart, Judas?" I asked. He gave me a dull look, the kind of look you would give a rock if it had just spit at you.

"There has been no change of heart," he muttered. "I'm just doing my job. I can't help it if you saw it as 'ruthless' or whatever."

"Well," I whispered wryly, "since Emilia already gave us half the story — namely the fact that she seems to be connected with the royal family of Saillune — why don't you finish it for me?"

"Forget it," Judas answered flatly. I didn't appreciate the tone of voice he used, especially. I tried to be nice to him. Couldn't he make the effort as well? Two-way streets, people!

"I think you can tell them, Mr. Judas," Emilia simpered from under the shadow of an empty soup bowl. "They seem like good people!"

Judas growled, easily one of his favorite responses to everything. "Your _naïvete_ is going to cost us dearly, Princess!"

"Princess? Judas? I can't see! Rinaaa!"

"Settle down, Kari! Sheesh!" I glanced over to Emilia. "You wanna help him out?"

"Uh..."

"... Just do as she says, Emilia." Judas, begrudgingly, seemed to accept our presence at that point. I guess he figured that now since we knew their secret, we could stay and help or leave and sell the information to the highest bidder - or he could kill us both. After two days of violence, I was actually getting tired of resolving things the hard way. It's different when the enemy is, oh, about ten scales weaker than me. Or Kari, for that matter. But against someone who can actually handle themselves like Judas, I'm willing to talk things out.

* * *

About an hour later, the four of us were gathered in the parlor of the house around a rectangular coffee table. Just out of the bath that Emilia kept in the hideout, my hair was still damp and sticking to whatever skin it touched. Wrapped tightly in my bathrobe, I suppose it was hard for the others to take me seriously.

Judas was as serious as ever, what with his perpetual scowl of doom and all. Emilia seemed like a busybody, pushing dust off of shelves and sweeping the kitchen (which looked like a post-Dragon Slave disaster area, by the way). All the time she whistled and sang to herself, and I was beginning to believe that the reason Judas was such a sourpuss was because he _needed_ to foil Emilia's excessive cheeriness with bitter angst to maintain his sanity. Kari for his part looked completely healed up, or at least healed up to a point where his face wasn't simply competition for the ugliest entrant at the local goblin horde's beauty pageant. Sad to say, his hair was so severely tangled that it seems that he opted to cut it off at the neckline instead of try to work it out. So now we had a more boyish-looking Karius in the room.

_Hmm. I never noticed that he had such wide shoulders..._

Between Kari and I, we were making good time in becoming the most injured merc duo in the business. For Kari, most of his problems seemed to stem from my actions. It's kind of sad how he stays by me, though. I've given him all the reason in the world to just quit and he hasn't.

_Maybe he needs someone to protect him from _me. _Heh._

"So..." Judas began with a long drawl, glancing at me longways. He eyed my bathrobe disapprovingly and continued: "You're just not going to give up this chase." He sipped respectably from a mug that Emilia handed him. Kari and I soon got mugs just like it, and within was a dark but sweet-smelling liquid. _Coffee,_ I assumed correctly. Kari was already drinking his, and he seemed to be handling it well. I glanced to Emilia first, who was sitting down in the couch that Judas perched on, and then to Judas at last.

"Heh. Of course not," I asided as I took a drink of my coffee. I winced at the bitterness; it wasn't _too_ bitter but it was still _too_ bitter for _my_ tastes. I set it down politely and folded my hands on my knee, leaning forward.

"Well. I'd rather not spend all my strength fighting you and your partner. As you can see, there are a lot of things amiss here..."

"There seem to be a _lot_ of things wrong here: a princess of Saillune hiding out in a run-down hermitage in the woods, a shady chimera helping her, Saillune gone shithouse, and a statue that seems to be important enough to someone to send a Mazoku after it."

Emilia shook her head at my language, Kari apparently agreeing with her as I got a light rap on the top of my head from his knuckle. I didn't react otherwise, as Judas seemed content with the description. The very statue I referred to sat in the middle of the coffee table, almost calling out for me to grab it and run.

_But... there could be more than money at stake here. And even then..._ I pieced together smaller fragments of a larger plot in my mind. _... Even then, royalty tends to be very grateful for help in times of trouble!_

"Why are you smiling like that?" Judas broke into my thoughts. I glanced up at him and batted my lashes.

"Nooooo reason," I sang. "Really!"

"Hmph. Whatever," Judas murmured. "You wanted to hear what was the situation behind that statue... and since you were injured by Saillune's defenses—"

"—Yeah, it's personal," I finished. "What is up with that? I know Saillune has built itself around a philosophy of self-defense, but they never shoot first. At least they didn't when I was last here..."

Judas shrugged, having nothing to elaborate on from the looks of it.

"Hm. Well, go on," I stated, then I leaned back to see just how alike this was to most cases of internal strife.

"Well, I'll be blunt," Judas began. "That statue right there was stolen from a convoy transporting valuable artifacts from Saillune's northern treasury to the capital some time last year. The Clerical League of Saillune told me that it was a key of some sort, though they didn't specify for what.

"O... kay. But that doesn't explain the fireworks that got me here. And how exactly were you connected with the royal family to begin with?"

"I came to Saillune for a cure to my _disease_." Judas' eyes suddenly become unfriendly, completely opposed to the idea of saying anymore. He glared out the window that faced Saillune, silent. After a moment, Judas glanced over to Emilia, who was running her finger along the rim of her mug. "Do you want to take it from here?" he asked, though from the tone I would have thought it to be a demand in the form of a question more than a question itself.

Looking small in Judas' shadow, Emilia picked up from where he left off. "While Mr. Judas was off on his duties, there was an deposing of my father."

At the 'D' word I knew that I didn't like where this was going. "Huh. Just like that?" I knew it couldn't be that easy. Saillune was a kingdom with a history of internal chaos and petty throne squabbling, but its royal family always prevailed and I doubted it would be so easy to remove a king from power.

_Unless you have the whole kingdom on your side..._

"Saillune has a notorious history of thronal disputes within the family, but this was different," Judas added. "And for once, the deposer was successful. That changed a lot of plans."

"Yes," Emilia responded irritably. She took a deep breath and exhaled her sentence: "Sorin Dragomir, the head priest of the temple, accused us, the royal family, of conspiring with demons to further Saillune's influence!"

"Whoa!" I yelled with a hand up. "Whoa there. Question. Mazoku?"

"Yes!" Emilia nodded frantically. "Do you know about them?"

I gave Emilia an odd stare, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm a sorceress. _Of course_ I know what Mazoku are. But really, how could the head priest possibly depose a well-seated royal family?"

"Fear can be a convincing argument," Judas intoned.

I swallowed hard for what was coming.

"He had 'proof,'" Emilia whispered. I thought I saw tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. "He had the demon that we had supposedly been conspiring with locked within a seal. It was supposedly caught inside the city somewhere. While preparing to purify the Mazoku, he made it 'confess' that Daddy was its master. After that, Dragomir suggested that all of us were to be held prisoner. I got away, but only because of Emilio and Mr. Judas."

"Emilio?" I asked.

"Yes. My twin brother." Emilia took a sip of her coffee and continued. "He helped me sneak out of the city, but he got caught so that I could escape." She bit her lip, pinching her eyes shut. "Supposedly, the demon was the killer of two marquesses that weren't cooperating with Saillune's mandates in the Alliance, and it acted on our orders to remove them. Then the demon escaped while Dragomir was having it imprisoned to use at a proper trial."

"That brings us to here," Judas interjected. "This cabin isn't a very long way from the city, but it's situated on an outcropping that makes it impossible for anyone to approach us unseen. We're careful to keep lights dim here, and we don't build regular fires for the danger of the smoke being seen. We want the guards to think that this shack is abandoned."

I furrowed my brows in thought. "Ugh, this is annoying. Don't you have _anyone_ who might help you out on the inside, Emilia?"

"No one that isn't imprisoned..."

"And we can't trust anyone from the temple anymore," Judas reinforced.

I thought of something.

"Why was it that the priest back at the town helped you, then?"

Judas let out a deep hum, shrugging again.

"There's an information choke. Almost no one outside of Saillune realizes what's going on in the capital."

We fell into silence for a few minutes. I could tell that we were all thinking this situation over pretty painfully, but no one seemed to be getting any closer to an answer or even a _theory_ as to what might be going on. I glanced over to Kari with the slim hope that he had an insight on the situation. He was playing with a splinter of wood on the coffee table instead. The sight of the splinter took me back to the inn where I was attacked by Ein, the Mazoku.

"... That Mazoku you were fighting, Judas..."

"The one from last night?"

"Yeah, that one. It attacked me twice before."

Emilia and Judas gave each other an unsure look, then shifted uncomfortably in their seats before refocusing their eyes on me.

"It wanted the statue that you took from me back in the church when I was injured..."

Judas closed his eyes. "I see. Then it makes a little sense now, somewhat."

"No it doesn't. Why would the Mazoku want it? Mazoku don't covet material things." I looked at Emilia. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but the words seemed to get caught in her throat. Emilia closed her mouth and gave the city outside the window a long gaze before responding.

"Maybe it was under contract?" Emilia seemed to pale at the thought, though. "Would anyone in Saillune really enter into a contract with a Mazoku?"

I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

"People are capable of anything, Emilia. It all depends on what that statue does and why it's so important. I wonder. Was Ein the Mazoku that 'confessed' to the assassinations?"

"It's possible," Judas interjected. "But there's no way to know now. I wasn't here when all this occurred."

"Whatever the case!" Emilia slammed the table with her hands, then she stood up and planted a foot on a chair in a heroic pose. "The Light shall expose those at the center of this dark conspiracy! We must prevail, for Justice!"

_A justice speech. How... cheesy._ Well, to Emilia's credit, she was eloquently spoken.

* * *

As far as I saw it, our thoughts weren't going to get any farther without actually going out to investigate this incident ourselves. As I laid in my bed that night, serenaded by Emilia's snoring, I went back through what we had reviewed in the afternoon.

This mess all seemed to be connected to the Mazoku. The Mazoku that the head priest captured, who may or may not have been Ein, supposedly told a full and sordid tale about how Saillune's king, Philionel III, made a deal with the demon to knock off several leaders in the vicinity that were against Saillune's diplomatic missions to the New World. In light of this news, the kingdom took initiative and locked up the royal family pending a more thorough investigation, but the Mazoku 'escaped.' Sometime before we met, Emilia's brother helped her get out of the city before it went into complete lockdown. Judas has been helping her hide ever since. Now, the city is under martial law and no one is allowed in or out.

"Getting in is gonna be tricky," I murmured to myself in the dark room. Emilia answered only with snores. I assumed they meant yes, as there were no two ways about it.


	9. Chapter VIII: And Then There Were Four!

There we were, all four of us crouching in the bushes by the roadside like a quartet of hungry Stone Age hunters waiting for a passing mammoth to take down with what sticks and rocks we could muster. Judas and Kari flanked me, one to each side, and I sat in the center with a spell on the tip of my tongue. Emilia lurked in the treetops above, whistling a birdsong to keep herself occupied. With as much pent-up energy as she seemed to have, it was impossible to keep her still for long.

The sun was high, just a little past noon. We had been staked out at that roadside shrubbery for about three hours by that time. You see, in the morning before we made our way out to infiltrate the Capital of White Magic, Judas explained to us in better detail what the situation in Saillune was like. The city was more or less quarantined. Why? Judas gave two probable reasons. One: Emilia evaded arrest. They thought she was still in the city. Saillune's capital may well be the largest city in the region, and in that case they weren't going to chance her getting out of their reach. Two: the Clerical League didn't want news of the deposing getting out. That could be a diplomatic and military disaster; Saillune is the most influential nation in the region, so a sudden power vacuum would be bad.

But even Saillune needed to keep a supply line and waste dump running, so its gates weren't sealed 100% of the time. While Judas wasn't relentlessly chasing down the statue I possessed, he was surveying the paths the supply convoys took in order to make use of them later. I'll hand it to Judas — he's a thorough planner, and he was always prepared for the best and worst case scenarios. He outlined everything to us, from escape routes to weak points in the guard patrols. He had an intimate knowledge of the city's inner workings, which made me both appreciative and suspicious.

But there was one, crippling request from Emilia — _no killing_. I had a small problem with that, you see, because now she was telling me not to attempt to severely injure the same group that thought nothing of shooting me down a couple nights ago with _every intention_ of killing whatever it was (which just so happened to be me). But, silly me, she was the _Princess of Saillune_, her brother being the Crown Prince. If I played all my cards right, there was a big — _strike that_ — huge payout waiting for me at the end of this crooked, metaphorically spike-riddled highway. Yes sir, the thought of all that gold running through my fingers like the sweetwater streams back home brought a twisted smile to my face even when I thought I was masking it.

"You're doing it again, Rina..." Kari mumbled.

I shook the grin off my face and replaced it with a sheepish smile. "Wh-what? I'm sorry if I start daydreaming; this is mind-numbingly _boring_." I pivoted my head to meet Judas' snake-eyed glare. If I didn't know better, I would say that Judas looked like a wingless gargoyle in his stiff crouch and stony-skinned form.

"You complain too much," Judas scolded me. "You don't have to be here, you know." The sun gleamed off his silver hair as he turned his attention towards the gravel-paved road in front of us. He wasn't wearing his hood or mask this time, so he was a lot less shady-looking than usual. He had a nice jawline and a distinguished, noble face, if I do say so myself. I might've considered Judas a potential date if it wasn't for the dry complexion and mottling all over his body.

But he's still a handsome guy. Really!

Meanwhile, a couple stories above our heads, Emilia danced around on the tree branch she stood on like a squirrel, except Emilia had a lot more to lose than a squirrel if she fell out of the tree. Emilia wore a much more dramatic _énsemble_ than the drab, green linen tunic and white hose combo she exhibited around the hideout. Her top was a white, long-sleeved blouse of maybe silk or fine cotton rimmed with red trim around the cuffs of the sleeves. The neckline as well as the tail of the garment had the same trimming, identical in every way. The blouse looked a size too big for Emilia, but the fact that the sleeves were the right length for her indicated to me that it was tailor-made that way. A tight leather girdle pinched her petite waist, making the tail of her blouse into a passable skirt. Her leggings were some black, snug-fitting shorts that showed off her athletic leg muscles. The boots she wore were made for running, and if I recognized the design right they were more like a monk's boots than a cleric's (meaning that they were reinforced for traveling and fighting).

Despite being a princess, Emilia had an admirable physique considering most royalty only ever sit around on their rear and sip fine wine and admire the gleam of their mountains of gems and _la-la-la_, sing about their sprawling empire. But Emilia was fearless in her demeanor, doing stunts on that thin branch that I wouldn't dare to even _think_ about on my risky days. I didn't know about physically, seeing how all her gear was modeled to give her maximum mobility, but magically Emilia was well-guarded. Tell-tale ruby amulets affixed with a hexagram in their center hung from her hands, belt, choker and ankles. She was obviously a cleric of some sort, as I judged from Kari's rapid healing yesterday, but she wasn't your run-of-the-mill healer. She looked more like a war cleric with that gear, though she didn't have a weapon of any sort on her form. Before observing her for long, Emilia put a hand to her mouth, yawned loudly, and then leaned against the tree trunk.

"This kind of road watching is hardly befitting of a Warrior of Justice!" she proclaimed in a loud voice with a defiant fist thrust out into the oppressive sky. I gave the area a nervous once-over, but there was not a soul in sight. Well, there was a deer. But it sensed Emilia's presence, I guess, and ran off in a panicked haste without looking back. "Mr. Judas!" she announced in a commanding tone, "When did you say the convoys come down this road?"

Judas groaned. I can't blame him; he did go over that fact maybe three times back at the house. "About two o'clock," he muttered. "Why didn't you pay attention back at the house again?"

"Because my eggs were burning, that's why!" she shouted back. It was at that moment that the lot of us were nearly blown off our feet by a thunderous, echoing blast from the direction of the hideout.

_CHOOM!_

It caught the four of us off guard, and Emilia half-fell from the tree she was prancing around in. She cried as she dangled by a hand and tried to scramble back onto the limb. As Judas and I looked back towards the woods, a scorched plank of wood came arching over the tree tops from a billowing mountain of smoke and debris rising over the treeline.

_... Poor Kari._

There was no time to warn him. Even if I did, his response would have been too slow to get out of the way. Boredom does that to a person's brain, even one as instinctively sharp as Kari's. The board of wood landed not even oddly, but _squarely_ on the back of Kari's head. He was thrown out of the bush and onto the road where he sprawled like a dead spider. I choked back an audible wince.

_... If anyone's luck sucks harder than that, please let me know ahead of time_.

"Grandpa," Kari slurred as he rolled over to face up, "I didn't mean to...!"

Judas muttered in a resigned fashion, albeit with near-disbelief. "... They found the house. For crying out loud." Judas angled his gaze up at the struggling Emilia and, I could see, _tried_ not to explode at her in the same way his abode just did. "You were using a regular fire, weren't you?"

"I—uh, what?" Emilia tried to dance around the question as she clung to the branch like a monkey. She no longer had the complete confidence of her footing that she proudly exhibited not two minutes ago. "Um, maybe?"

"Great," Judas mumbled with a shake of his head. "I hope no one left anything important back there."

"I think we have everything!" I replied perkily. Sure enough I was fully equipped with my black mantle, red blouse, black trousers, boots, gloves, amulets and earrings. All of them had seen better days with the beatings I've taken recently, but they were still good for a few more adventures. On all fours, I crawled out of the bush and crawled towards Kari. After reaching him, I rocked back onto my haunches and assessed his condition.

"Yo, Kari! How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked him with a strong voice, holding up all ten of my fingers with both hands. He gave me a cross, googly-eyed stare as his eyes dialated in the sunlight. "Uh... Taco?"

_... He's okay!_

"He'll be fine!" I called back to Judas in the bush. Judas clenched his fists and waved his arms in response, however, and he was completely ingracious to my maternal ways with our partner. But that wasn't what he was so severe looking about, as I found out in the next split-second.

"What the—? You, sorceress! State your name and business on this route!"

I froze in position, swiveling my eyes alone to put the source of the voice in my view. There stood a soldier, your average cannon fodder idiot-with-a-spear infantryman. He stood about a head taller than me and trembled with the anticipation of an impending battle. If anything, I sensed the guy was as bored to hell as I was, and he was itching for a fight. He didn't seem to exhibit the most astute judgment, though.

"Answer, sorceress! In the name of the Kingdom of Saillune!"

I stood up, leaving the dazed Kari on the ground as I took a few steps forward. The soldier took steps in the same direction — back for him — with equal measure. I observed him for a moment, a moment which seemed more like a half-second. I then threw my head back in a laugh, deeming him little more than a distraction. I placed my hands on my hips and struck a valiant pose, grinning brightly.

"I am Rina Erris! And I am here for... _a walk_. Really!"

The soldier gave me a half-lidded, brow-cocked look. "What the f—"

"Bomb Di Wind!"

_WOOMPF!_ A blast of wind tore leaves and twigs from a tree before launching the soldier across the road and into another tree, crumpling and denting his armor like an oversized tin can. My composure was broken, and I glanced over to the tree where the spell had come from. It could only be one person.

_... Emilia._

"How _dare_ you sully Saillune's righteous name to interrogate a mere passers-by about her business in this open, free land?"

_Wait! "Mere" passers-by? How dare she?_

Emilia then leapt from her tree, arms open like some sort of goddess of victory with the sun gleaming off her white clothes in a flare and everything. All that was missing was the triumphant orchestral score. But then she landed, and it all went wrong starting with her foot landing in a snake hole. It went in up to her knee, and she squeaked a curse.

"Curses!" she yowled as she tugged at her leg. She stopped only long enough to point accusingly across the road at the unconscious soldier. "You may have slowed me down, but I will release myself from your dastardly trap and dispense my furious judgment upon you and all of Saillune's traitors!"

_Oookay..._ It turned out that there were several — okay, _many_ — inconsistencies with Emilia's speech. I think you can figure them all out on your own. Leaves started dropping down onto the road in intermittent waves. I glanced over a few feet from Emilia to behold Judas banging the hell out of the tree with his head, apparently frustrated with the way things were going.

"All wrong," he muttered. _THUD._ "All wrong!" _THUD. Fsssh._

_Well, I can't blame him. How carefully did Judas plan all of this?_

"Keep your head on, Jude," I quipped as I dragged Kari back behind the hedge we were originally stationed behind. "It was just a lone patrol geek. The convoy hasn't come by yet, right?"

"I just hope they didn't hear the commotion and take a different route," Judas grumbled as he gave Emilia a pestilent glare.

"Nah." I sat down cross-legged after dropping Kari's arm. "These guys act like they own the place, if that last ironhead was any indication. If they heard that mess, they'll probably be _running_ here now."

It turns out I was right. Two recovered allies and thirty minutes later, an armed escort of identically-armored spearmen accompanying three horse-drawn wagons filled with various foodstuffs came down the road bound for Saillune. I grinned in anticipation from the shade of the tree.

"Yesss... showtime."

"Don't do anything over the top, Rina." Judas whispered, trying to stifle his voice as much as possible. "We need those carts and at least four of those armors in one piece."

Judas grabbed a hold of Emilia's shirt collar as though she were a kitten and pulled her down. "Ahhh!" she whined with a declining pitch to her voice, as she was trying to climb back to the treetop like last time.

"What, so I just use my fists?" Kari whimpered, confused.

"Or you could use the flat of your sword, genius," I suggested.

"What the—? Halt, HALT!"

_All these soldiers apparently read their lines from the same script_.

The observant foot soldier ran over to the crumpled spearman that Emilia had Bomb Di Wind'ed half an hour ago, and, after a second of keen checking, he nodded.

"He's fine! I think..."

The downed soldier suddenly came to, screaming.

"They-they're in those bushes over there!"

He pointed our way. I could feel the mood among us all drop like stone.

"There goes the element of surprise," I muttered to my fellows. Judas was the first to stand, replying with, "Indeed." Kari stood up next, drawing his sword out from his over-the-shoulder scabbard, otherwise quiet. Emilia burst out of the pile of leaves that Judas had made the tree to shed, pointing a finger of doom at the soldiers and belting out a reverberating war-whoop. I just sort of stayed in a squatting position, mumbling to myself.

_This is gonna be a stressful week_.

* * *

The road and the woodland surrounding its vicinity resembled a nursery playroom, soldiers strewn about the ground like toys in all sorts of painful positions. The battle lasted all of two minutes. Kari was just dealing with the last of the group. Grabbing their heads by their helmets, he banged them together and watched them slump to the ground. Leaning against his sword's pommel, the blade of which had been driven into the gravel ground by its tip, he glanced over to me and shrugged.

"Piece of cake," he sighed. "But I'm still bored." I ignored Karius as I was busying myself with pickpocketing my Sleeping spell victims.

"Tch. Just a few coins. Hey, Emilia! Why don't you tell your father to give the soldiers a raise? Their pay isn't worth this s—"

"Have you forgotten what we came to do?" Judas snapped at me, interrupting as he stooped down and roughly began to strip an inert soldier of his armor. "Find a suit and put it on. And stop robbing the bodies. Don't you have any decorum?"

"Call it _hazard pay_, Judas. What I don't have is _remorse_ for villains."

"Says the one acting like a bandit," he retorted with a roll of his eyes, turning away from me. Shrugging, I stuffed the handful of gold coins into my pocket and began my hopeless quest for the smallest suit of armor among the group. The corner of my eyes and my sensitive ears caught Emilia raising a victory screech over a fallen soldier as she planted her boot on his butt.

"This day belongs to righteousness!" she howled as if standing on a platform before a throng of revolutionaries. "Let it be known among you, lost ones, that JUSTICE. _IS_. _NOT_. _**BLIND!**_"

"Will you shut up already?" Judas growled. "They can't hear you!" Shoving on one of the helmets proved to be more comical on Judas than I had expected, what with his metallic hair and perpetual leer emanating from the visor. I stifled a giggle as he glared my way. When he turned away, I made a face at him and picked up a helmet. I eyed it with the suspicion of a woman with acutely tuned senses shopping at the produce mart, examining a melon for the most trivial of flaws that might make it any less worthy of its price tag.

_Keh. Whatever._

I put on the helmet and took out my sword to see my reflection. To my delight, I looked like a complete tool. If anything, I was a passable militiawoman in some ghetto out in the boondocks. I glanced nervously to my teammates, who didn't seem to care even though I had suspicions otherwise. Encasing my sword once again, I found a hauberk that wouldn't slip off my shoulders. The guy I stole it from was chickenboned and underfed; he was so _totally_ not suited to this line of work he was in.

"Man, get a job as a banker or something," I muttered to the unconscious foot soldier.

Before long, the four of us were suited up and heading down the road with the steady clip-clopping of the horses' hooves tugging the wagon along.

Somewhere between the twittering birds, the loud trotting of equestrian hooves, and the imposing sight of Saillune's looming gate wall, a question hit me. Intending on getting it answered, I turned to Judas.

"Hey, Jude. What happened to your pal? You know, the one with the bandage fetish." I snickered at my wit. _Hahahaha._

"Funny," Judas droned unconvincingly. I'm glad he thought so, too. "Syrius is waiting for me in the capital. Before he encountered you on the pirates' ship, he was assigned with me to find the statue. But then the royal family was imprisoned, and he returned to the capital after our last encounter with you and Karius. I figured I would have the statue in hand eventually, and I needed him to prepare."

"Prepare... for what?"

"Helping the royal family escape. What else?"

"So," I puzzled, "... _how_ did you do all this in the one day that I didn't see you?"

"You misunderstand." Judas kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead as the capital creeped closer by the second. "I've been planning this ever since I returned and helped the princess go into hiding. Unfortunately, my involvement in helping her was reported, so now I am branded a traitor as well. I only had an idea of what was happening after Emilia told me everything. I had a feeling that I was going to end up encountering that Mazoku she mentioned. I figure your 'Ein' was it."

I shuddered at the thought of my injures. Unconsciously, I touched the place closest to my heart where I had felt a bolt pass. _So close,_ I whispered in my mind. My face twitched with an odd frown, and Judas wrapped up his explanation.

"Syrius' family has a history of serving mine. So hopefully he has already prepared a reliable entry into the palace by the time we get there."

"If he's half as useless everywhere as he is in battle, I wouldn't rely on him too much."

"Rina..." Kari warned. I ignored him, naturally.

"Let her believe what she wants." Judas finally glanced aside to me, just to drive his point home. "It doesn't matter what she thinks."

I returned Judas' glare, with interest. I didn't appreciate that comment, even if I _might_ be shortchanging Syrius. For all the names he called me, I wouldn't retract _anything_.

"We're here..." Emilia spoke up, a tone of dread hanging heavy on her words as she gazed up at the high, palisaded archway of marble. Her voice carried nothing of the wild bravado that she held earlier. Maybe, I thought, she got exhausted. But no; it turns out that her moods change with the tides. I kept that little observation to myself for the time being, however.

Like Judas had said, the place was patrolled more heavily than Saillune had ever been — than any city I'd _ever_ seen, for that matter. The guards all seemed to turn a burning, suspicious eye on us at once. After the gate rose, we stopped in the middle of the archway beneath that massive ironwork gate. It felt like that deadly doorway could come crashing down on us if the gatekeeper wanted to drop it. We would be dead for sure, as I'm not sure if even Judas could withstand such trauma.

"Wait a minute. Where are the other two carts that were supposed to be with you?"

_Damn! I knew this was coming. Brace yourselves!_ It was too late and too risky to bail out by then. As the four of us glanced around at each other with the same anxious look in our eyes, I piped up with the quickest excuse I could come up with. I deepened my voice with a soldierly growl and waved a fist frantically at the suspicious soldier.

"What the—?" For authenticity. It's not _my_ lack of imagination that came up with that starter. "We endure an ambush only to be stopped at the gate because there's just one of us?"

"Yeah," Judas interdicted in his normal tone of voice; it already bore enough authority on its own to be convincing enough. "Just who the hell are you to be stopping us at the gate when we lost most of our cargo to an ambush by bandits back there?"

The soldier went pale. "I-It must be _them!_" That soldier, who could obviously put two and two together, turned to his lieutenant and barked the following orders: "Assemble a large assault force! We're going to stake out the attacked area for the princess and the traitorous shaman!"

"Sir!" The junior in rank turned and fled into the cavernous space between the walls, a barracks of some sort. We were given an approving nod and ushered into the city. "Report to the palace what you did to me. You will surely be rewarded for your bravery and competence by His Holiness."

"Uh... it's a privilege, gate dude." Kari had to add a bit of his buffoonery to the conversation just to endanger our position that much. In a haste, Judas whipped the reins and the horses took off in a hasty canter. After we were out of sight and out of scorn, I punched a dent into Kari's helmet.

"You moron! When we're in a situation like that, don't speak up! Not unless you have something intelligent to say!"

"Ah hah ow!" Kari whimpered, holding his head. "I'm sorry! You don't have to be so mean about it!"

"Mean, my fist," I snarled, retreating to my seat in the front with Judas. I thought I saw a sigh escape through the bottom rim of his helmet, but perhaps it was just my eyes playing tricks on me again.

* * *

"Ugh. That armor was _too_ heavy."

"I agree!" In unison, Emilia and I threw the hauberks of iron that we wore to the inn floor. With the money that I had stolen from the soldiers, I bribed the innkeeper into staying silent about our presence in the city. He was sharper than the gate captain, admittedly, and he had us all pinned. But money talks, like I said earlier, and it _talks loudly._

All the way to the inn we saw the hallmarks of a once-prosperous kingdom in the grips of martial law. There are few things more depressing than a city in the throes of a political upheaval. The stores closed early because few people dared to leave their homes, the restaurants were rationing their meals, and the soldiers were _everywhere_, from every street corner to the narrowest alleyway.

According to history, a usurpation had never successfully taken place in at least two kingdoms: Saillune, and my home of Zefielia. From that alone I could tell that Sorin Dragomir was a powerful man, at least in terms of charisma. Hell, I didn't doubt it after a moment of thinking; he _was_ the head of the Temple of Ceiphied, and, like so few organizations in today's world, you actually got to the top of the church by plain being the best of the best. What few people I spotted during our short tour of the city were obviously afraid of how things in the kingdom had turned. Now, I felt almost as morally obligated to get to the bottom of Dragomir's scheme as I did financially motivated.

"So, Judas. Do you still think I need decorum?" I asked wryly, keeping my eyes narrow in a mischeivous fashion. Judas just shoved his suit of armor into the closet of the room we were in and grunted.

"Yes," he said flatly as he shut the door.

_Fine! Be that way!_

"Hmf. Sorry I don't live up to your expectations, Judas."

He said nothing.

We had reserved two rooms — one for Emilia and myself and one for Judas and Kari. We were discarding of the armors we pilfered from the convoy in they guys' room, and we planned a strategy meeting that would proceed immediately. As Emilia took a seat on one of the two chairs at the square table in the center of the room, I paced around the perimeter of the stand while Judas brooded away from the group. Kari sat at the other chair, his propped-up hands holding his head in place as he stared off into space.

"So..." I started. "How are we going to get into the palace?"

As Emilia and Karius were both clueless, shrugging in unison, Judas stepped into the dim light of the light spell I had cast when we entered initally. "If Syrius made it through the gates and into the palace, he should be waiting at a square in the 13th District.

"So we're one District over from the meeting spot?" Emilia slurred. She was evidently tired.

_I knew all that justice stuff and jumping around would catch up to her._

"Yes. As for the time we were meeting, we never established that. He said he would be there every day at a café." Judas turned to me, stoic as usual. "You've never seen Syrius' face without the scarring, have you?"

"I haven't seen his face period." I shrugged in flippant resignation. "I _told_ you, I didn't attack him _on purpose_. But no one would listen..." To distract myself, I tumbled a gold coin through my dexterous fingers, a result of many years of spellcasting. _Sigh. I'm always made out to be the villain._

"Then you probably won't recognize him. Nor will Emilia, or Karius." He shifted his eyes to the window, alert as if he had just seen something suspicious. After a short silence, Judas went on with his thoughts.

"I think it would be best if I met Syrius alone." As if to make the point clear, Judas gave me an uneasy glance. Emilia tilted her head in curiosity, and Kari sighed in some sort of silent accord with Judas. I knitted my brows, offended.

"H-Hey! I wouldn't jeopardize our position like that!"

Judas shook his head. "It's not _you_ that I'm worried about. Now that Syrius is probably completely healed up, he would still be seeking revenge against you for his injuries, Rina. Nothing would make him more livid than to find out that we were now working together."

_Great,_ I thought.

"But even if he decided against using violence, he still would only tolerate you. He will obey me, but I do not want to attract unnecessary attention to ourselves with you and Syrius raising a childish argument in the plaza."

Judas had me pegged. If Syrius insulted me, I would have insulted back, and, very plainly, we would not have had any peace on the way to the palace. And without any peace, there would be no covert approach. I agreed with Judas, putting the mission ahead of my pride. I would eventually be forced to practice my patience because, the way it was looking, Judas' patsy was our guide into the Royal Palace.

"Is that all?" Kari groaned, the boredom surrounding him beginning to spread to the rest of us.

I dropped the coin that I had been flipping across my fingers and caught it in the same motion.

"We should get some rest," I suggested. Emilia and Kari were gobsmacked with sleepiness and fatigue, and I didn't know if we could risk error in tomorrow's operation. Concurring, Judas stepped over to the room's door and unlocked it.

"I won't be here in the morning. Remain in the lobby or the restaurant, I don't care, but remain in this building until I return."

I stepped out of the room, my hands laced together at the fingers. Emilia followed close behind me, eyes droopy and knuckles dragging, when Judas stopped her at the shoulder with his hand.

"Emilia," he whispered gravely, "keep yourself disguised and do not — _I repeat —_ **do not** cause a commotion. I know it must be hard for you to see Saillune in a state like this, but no one can know that you are here."

Saucer-eyed, Emilia answered with a yawn and what _could be_ passed off as a nod. Judas did not look inclined to argue, so he let Emilia go.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, except for the fact that the aqueduct leading fresh water to our room was broken. _Sigh._


	10. Chapter IX: Hell in the Holy City

For only the second time in almost a week, I was awakened by something other than a bad dream, explosion, or raid. As the sound from the world beyond my eyelids came through as something more understandable than "mffefffuffaffufloof," I realized that morning had come far too soon for my tastes.

"Miss Riiiiiinaaaaa!" sang a bubbly voice. The incessantly joyous nature that underlied it was almost enough to make me cast Sleeping on myself. I am the kind of person that enjoys sleeping in whenever she can take the opportunity to do so. Then, I didn't know how long it would be before I got to do it once again.

_Just shut up and leave me alone. Where's a 'do not disturb' sign when you need it?_

"Miss Rina!" There was that cheery voice again. Finally unable to get back to sleep, I swatted my arms wildly at the source of the voice. Hitting only air, I used the momentum caused by my slender arms to sit up in bed. I cracked my eyelids open to give the area a once-over through my swollen, bloodshot eyes. I felt the tears forcing themselves out to assuage the itchiness in them.

"MISS RINA!"

I flipped over my bed's edge in surprise. Emilia popped right out of my vision and _into my face_ without me expecting it. Then again, my reflexes are a little slow in the mornings, especially after a day of sneaking around and kicking ass. Even though I didn't really do much besides cast a few mid-level spells and drop-kick a few bums calling themselves "soldiers," yesterday was still exhausting. The adrenaline in my system had me on edge nearly the whole time, and a few close calls put me on the way to a panic attack.

Just to put it into an example showing _how_ ineffectual I am in the mornings after just waking up, I couldn't bother myself to get back at Emilia — in _any_ way — for startling me right off of the bed. Yeah, it's _that_ bad.

Watching Emilia zoom around the room she and I shared was enough to exhaust me for the rest of the day. My arms and legs literally felt sore from all the activity I was seeing. What was Emilia doing? Your guess is as good as mine. Only she could find a way to stay constantly active in a small inn room.

"Emilia," I slurred while still sitting on the floor besides my bed in a nest of bedsheets. "What the heck are you doing...?"

Emilia stopped running back and forth between the same two points and addressed me with her eyes. "Huh? Warming up for the day, of course." She turned to the window, admiring the lovely view of the dirty street below. "A true Champion of Justice is always prepared to fight the forces of evil. And today, we fight the villain that has done this to my city!"

As I was about to reply, my mind slow to process what Emilia was doing and saying, the door to our room shook with a violent knocking that caused the two of us to jump and eep.

"Will you shut the hell up in there?" It was a man's voice, but neither Kari's nor Judas'. I guessed that it was another one of the patrons staying on this floor of the inn. "It's too damn early for this racket!" the voice continued.

_You have my sympathies, angry voice._

After it was silent for a minute, and we heard the creaking of floorboards as the man outside the door walked away, Emilia shot me a glance and flashed an innocent, anxious smile.

"I think that's enough warming up for now, anyway..."

break-&-

Kari, Emilia and I met in the guys' room after I was certain that Karius was awake. As it turned out, Judas left earlier than even Emilia would have dared to. She was in a more sober mood, but I could feel that she had the energy canned up for later. It was evident in how she jerked her head rather than turned it, and darted her eyes around rather than shifted them. Everything about Emilia's person exuded a force of liveliness that could make a yellow lily in bloom look wilted by comparison.

Kari was even less of a morning person than I was. From what I could tell, his armor was on backwards and his sword was positioned over the wrong shoulder. Despite appearances, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been shortchanging Kari. He carried that sword and seemed so comfortable in the face of danger that he would make seemingly stupid decisions with the full faith that his sword would carry him through. Then again, I knew plenty of boneheads like that who have slashed themselves into the obituaries for underestimating a situation. Perhaps it was Kari's "gone fishing" demeanor, but he seemed to have a quiet, unboasting confidence about his skills that was unique to him.

Kari yawned hugely, apparently not having the reserve energy to raise a hand to stifle it. His new lion's mane hairdo was all over the place, too, a golden puff of fuzz that just brought the "I have the brain of a clam" look together perfectly. "Good morning," he slurred through a gargle of saliva to us as we walked in.

"Mr. Kari? Your armor..."

He looked down and stared at his chest for a few seconds. "... What? Is there something wrong with it?"

I quietly put a palm to my face, having been watching this exchange from behind Emilia. Kari somehow couldn't tell that his armor was in reverse, unless he was making a terrible joke. I _hoped_ it was a terrible joke, but I had a sinking feeling that it wasn't.

"Hmm. It seems that Mr. Judas has already gone ahead."

"He said he would be back in the afternoon," Kari informed us with the most genial of smiles. It was by then that I couldn't stand it, and I walked up to Kari. I grabbed him by the collar of his armor and dragged him to the mirror in a corner of the room.

"You look like an idiot, Kari." I forced him onto the available stool with only minimal resistance. "I'm taking it on myself to fix you up. I can't be seen with you looking like this!"

Emilia chuckled a bit from where she stood, and I gave her a smile and a wink. Even wordless responses can speak volumes, you know.

* * *

Perhaps against what would probably be Judas' advice, the three of us headed down into the inn's restaurant for a bite to eat. Emilia, of course, had the privilege of wearing a cloth hood that obscured her face. We garnered a few glances from the sparse clientele as we took a table for ourselves, but from the murmurs I could make out stuff like, "A cleric..." and, "Is she with the League?" Pretty obvious, stupid comments on their own, but they assured me that no one knew who Emilia actually was.

Obviously, we all registered at the inn under aliases. I'm a notorious personality on my own; the mere mention of my name has caused disaster on its own just by the people who tried to flee once they heard it. Judas, a wanted fugitive on the run from the Clerical League, probably had his name littered all over the city by posters. I think I can safely assume that everyone in Saillune knows the name of their own princess. About the only person among us who was immune to immediate identification was Kari, but I didn't know if I wanted him to think he had that much room for error or not.

"So, Miss Rina," Emilia piped up over her steaming cup of tea. "Do you have family?"

As I poured myself a cup of that tea, I gave Emilia a strange look. "Why the sudden interest in my family?"

"Well, I can't think of anything else to talk about." She paused to take a sip of her cup. The refinement in her manners was evident in even the way she drank her tea. Emilia's upbringing must have been strict, even if she was a little, um, _fanatical_ about justice. "Besides, I think we're going to be here a while. A few hours, at least."

I sighed. The subject of my family wasn't one that I relished sharing. Part of the reason I left home is because I got fed up with them. The other half was my brother thinking that I was immature and needed to do some growing up by seeing 'the real world.' In my arrogance, and with full faith in my sorcery, I took him up on his dare and looted the family heirlooms, and I took off without looking back.

After a few weeks of starving and wandering aimlessly, I found out that blowing up bandits and robbing their camps was a rather quick, easy and morally acceptable way to get rich. I felt kind of stupid with how I didn't see the possibilities in it from the start, but you live and you learn. In the process, I was also doing civilization a favor by getting rid of these bottomfeeders that prey on helpless passers-by. Now I don't hit bandit camps so much for the money as I do for the treasure they may have — treasure such as that troublesome little statue that has dragged me kicking and screaming into the situation I was now embroiled in.

"All right. All right," I muttered with a defeated expression. "What do you want to know?"

"Um... do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah. My big bro."

"Ah..." Emilia looked stumped for a second, as if she didn't know what to ask next. "... What's his name?"

"Uh, Runé..." I glanced over to Kari to see if he was following this slow conversation of mine. To my surprise, I caught sight of him staring straight up at the rafters, mouth ajar as his eyes closely followed a moth as it fluttered against the ceiling.

"What are your parents like, then?" As I looked back to Emilia, I noticed that she looked awfully intent, leaning forward a bit.

"My parents are... okay, I guess. My dad's sort of weird and my mom's a cleric... sort of."

"Oh! Um, 'sort of'?"

"Yeah. The other clerics at the temple in my town kind of kicked her out when she badmouthed the head priest."

"I guess it runs in the family," Kari stated in a matter-of-factly voice. Leave it to Kari to say something prickish like that at the most opportune moment, even if he looks like he's sleeping with his eyes open.

_Dirty hit, Kari. Dirty hit._

Emilia seemed to ignore Kari, not even paying him a glance. "That's not good..."

"Eh." I shrugged limply. "She didn't seem to care _that_ much about it. I only found out about it because my dad and I hung out a lot and he always told me stories — about everything. She knows a lot of magic and she's very good with it, but she hated how I was always playing around with black and fire magic."

"So you were close to your dad?"

I smiled softly at the thought. "... Yeah. Dad taught me how to handle a sword and he helped me get into the Sorcerer's Guild." As I recalled, my smile slowly faded during the pause I took. "No one wanted me around for some reason. The temple clerics said I was 'possessed,' the Sorcerer's Guild seems to have something against my family, and the kids at school just plain didn't like me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Miss Rina..."

I smirked confidently. "Hey, I can live with it." I added a wink for reassurance.

We got a full-course breakfast soon after Emilia and I concluded our conversation. Emilia was not quite the big eater that Kari and I were, so she sat back a little further once we really got going. If there was one thing that Kari and I had in common, it was a competitive streak. And what was the one thing that we could fairly compete in? Eating, apparently.

It was a nice break from all the worrying.

* * *

The feeling that something has gone very, very wrong is a distinct one. Every person has their own reaction to it, but it is almost always accompanied by a heavy, burdensome feeling of dread in the pit of the stomach. Long after breakfast was through, Emilia, Kari and I lounged in the restaurant until lunchtime, during which we pigged out again. And then we waited some more. There were some times when I got uneasy watching Emilia. From under her hood, she was giving passing soldiers outside the window fierce glares, the kind of looks that could make a plant shrivel up. I was half afraid that she would break out into a loud, long-winded speech like she had the previous day, but it thankfully never happened.

I heard Kari's exaggerated moan, and I glanced over to him as he was picking at the ends of his hair. "Judas is sure taking a long time..."

I slapped a hand down on the tabletop and shook my head at Kari. "Have you ever tried to meet a contact before?" He shook his head. No surprise there. "Well," I continued, "you would be surprised to know that the guys that usually set the meetings up are the ones that either don't show up or show up late."

Kari raised a hand to his chin, clutching it between his fingers. "... Isn't that a rule? You know, to throw off anyone following you?"

.

_Where does he get these ideas?_

I planted my face in my palm once again. Though I wanted to, I didn't scream into my hand, as that would have attracted attention to us. The boredom, uneasiness, and Kari's stupidity were starting to mount on me.

"Kari," I started slowly, composing my voice. "There is a rule out there. A popular proverb, if you will. It goes, _'If it sounds obvious, then it probably is (twit).'_"

"Do you have to call me names?" he asksed, frowning.

"That wasn't me. That's how it went in the book I read it in."

Kari blinked cluelessly, but then he waved me off dismissively. As I began to wonder what he thought, he intercepted my question before I spoke it. "Books are for losers."

THUD. I just leaned back in my chair too far this time. The lack of depth that Kari possessed, and his rampant attention-deficit, had finally driven me to the point of giving up. I smiled pleasantly where I laid, and I giggled somewhere deep in my throat. As I met Emilia's gaze upon me, she seemed to become troubled and averted her eyes to less uncomfortable sights... like the floorboards.

I stopped as quickly as I had started. Placidly, I stood up, rearranged my chair, and sat quietly at it. Gathering my hands together and twiddling my thumbs idly, I watched as Kari and Emilia gave each other unsure, cautious glances. At one point, it looked like they were mouthing short sentences to each other. Things like, 'Is she okay?' and 'I'm hungry.'

_I dunno. Maybe I really _have_ lost it._

We stayed silent until dinnertime. There was pretty much no crowd to speak of, but we had already gotten used to the abnormality by then. I beckoned the closest server to our table with a forefinger. We had our third feast of the night going right then and there, and I was intent on burying my worries with all the variety of eats that this place had to offer. The three of us continued to eat until we heard the gates on the inn door close shut, followed by the sound of a bar being dropped in place.

"Huh? Is it closing time already?" I asked vacantly. Kari was beginning to rub off on me.

"Well _duh_, Rina..." Kari was always cruising for a bruising, wasn't he?

"But Judas still hasn't come back," Emilia mewled, somewhat sadly. She had the appearance, too, looking down at her plate like that. Kari reached a long arm over the cyclone zone that was our dinner table and patted her head.

"Don't worry, kid." Kari ruffled her hair, or he must have with the twisting of his hand that rocked her head and hood back and forth. "Judas can take care of himself, I'm sure."

_He could,_ I thought. But deep inside, as I glanced out onto the lonely streets of Saillune City, I couldn't shake the feeling that it all went wrong.

* * *

We decided to retire for the night without knowing if Judas was safe or not. We had no choice, really. We were the last group still in the tavern and the staff wanted to go home. We allowed ourselves to be kicked out without protest, so long as there was no actual kicking involved. As we walked up the stairs to our floor, Emilia expressed her concern.

"I feel... an evil presence."

Whoa. Now that was some heavy stuff. I tilted my head, not quite sure what to make of it. I knew that those with training could utilize a sixth sense to sense the presence of people, such as a group of bandits who lay in ambush down the road from you. With her upbringing and her status as a cleric, I had little doubt that Emilia could utilize that sense. The problem with what Emilia was saying was that _I_ couldn't sense anything. I sneaked a peek at Kari, and he shrugged quietly as if he knew the question I was asking with my glance. I turned back to Emilia and poked her shoulder.

"We can't sense anything, Emilia," I whispered, hinting to my colleagues that it was best that we stay quiet when name-dropping around here.

"That's because it's not close to us, Miss Rina... It's pretty far." She froze. "... The Palace."

I walked past Emilia, shrugging. "It was there before, right?" But the answer didn't come as quickly as I expected it to. I walked up the flight a couple of steps before stopping. I looked back slowly, and Emilia stood there shaking her head.

"No. It wasn't," she murmured quietly.

_Well, that's not good._

Kari looked up at me, apparently needing guidance. "What should we do, Rina?"

"I want to go to the Palace!" Emilia cried. My ears rang in the silence, and my heart kicked up its beat so much that I thought it would explode at that outburst. I gestured for Emilia to pipe down with a pleading look in my eyes.

"All right, _all right_. But I have to get my gear first," I grumbled. A day of food and sleep was going to lead into a night of skulking through soldier infested streets in a powder keg of a city. As you can imagine, I was just giddy with the thought of possibly meeting my maker that night.

I brandished the key to my room and put it in the keyhole. But as I heard the tumbler click, I heard something else beyond the surface of the door; one of the beds screeched across the wooden floorboards. The air around the three of us became like ice, a cold sweat forming on my upper lip.

"Miss Rina?" Emilia could sense it, too. Kari had his back turned to us, his head slowly shifting direction as he watched for signs of movement from either side of the hallway. My hand clutched the door handle, but I was debating how to enter the room: kick it in and catch the perp off-guard, open it slowly as if I didn't hear his presence, or just walk away and listen to hear if anything else happens.

"... Right," I whispered. "Let's act as if nothing happened. Maybe we can catch whoever is in there if he thinks he's still got the element of surprise." Emilia looked up to Kari, and then they both nodded. A minute passed. I pushed the door open as if nothing had happened. I stepped in. I yawned and stretched. Then I got a signal from that little voice in the back of your head.

As I was walking in, I muttered a few chanted words under my breath. When I felt the presence of the intruder, I turned immediately to where it came from.

_Behind!_

"Lighting!" Zero duration, maximum brightness. The pitch black room lit up like day, and I heard the unexpected cry of the intruder as he clawed at his eyes. I couldn't see either, as I brought up my forearm to shield me from the flash of light. I assumed that neither Kari or Emilia could see for the same reason, or the other one. The three of us leapt onto the intruder, but something went terribly wrong. I felt the wind rush out of my lungs well before I felt the burning pain of being hit in the gut with what felt like a brick. As I felt the wooden floor with my right hand, my left hand favoring my injured belly, I heard a squeak as Emilia's body landed on top of mine. Emilia's voice or mine, I couldn't tell.

"UGH! Owww..." I whined. This was not turning out well. The last noise I heard before the scuffle ended was Kari's pained yelping, followed by his voice exclaiming, "Ahh! My eye!"

THUD. I don't know how it happened, but this one intruder, despite being ambushed successfully, had defeated all three of us. I saw the ground illuminate under the glow of a dim lighting spell. I recognized the pair of feet that stood before me immediately.

"Judas?" The three of us cried at more or less the same time. Judas' grumbling was the next vocalization that followed, along with the inevitable scolding that would come with it.

"Why did you do that?" he asked irately as if what he was doing, lurking in our room, wasn't a suspicious thing. I opened my mouth to complain about my stomach when the four of us heard shouts outside.

"Get inside the inn and check it out!"

_Yup._ It was bound to happen. I jerked my head in such a way that I could see the still-open door with the steps of armored feet resounding through the hallway as the soldiers, about three or four from what I could tell, stampeded up the staircase at the end of it. We didn't have time to organize, so we resigned our fate to Kari's able hands. It wasn't until I was shoved into the closet with Judas and Emilia that I realized that our fate wasn't in Kari's hands, but _in his brain_.

_... Oh Lord._

The marching sounds stopped abruptly and the door creaked open. When we shut the closet door, Kari was situating himself on one of the beds.

"Huh? Oh, hey guys!" I could imagine Kari giving the soldiers a dopey smile.

"Um... hi," a gruff voice responded. "There was a disturbance in this room. Do not try to convince us otherwise; we saw the spells."

"Uh, y-yeah... about that—" Kari's voice tapered off, and it sounded like his voice droned on a single note before fading off into the distance of my aural threshold.

"... Sir?" A different voice from the gruff one sounded out. Kari suddenly shouted.

"THEY WENT THAT WAY!"

_... This isn't going well._

Emilia's breathing was rapid and shallow. I couldn't see her expression, but she was holding back a light groan. I could hear little bits of it escaping through her nose. Judas was the first one into the closet, pulling the two of us by the collar. He kept his hard hands on both our shoulders and held us firmly in place. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. His grip was too tight and it was digging into my collar. Judging from the levity of his hold, he was nervous as well. A bead of sweat rolled down my cheek as I strained to hear what was going on.

"They? Were they... intruders?"

"Y-yeah! Uh, well, sorta'."

"Sorta'?"

"I didididididnnnnnDIDN'T get a good look at them, ma'm. I MEAN, SIR."

The unfamiliar voices began to talk among themselves.

"What if it was the fugitive? You know, the one from earlier."

_Fugitive?_

"Of course it was, you idiot! You two — go and interrogate the innkeeper, see if he saw anything! You, come with me. We're searching this room."

"Sir!" three voices replied. Emilia seemed to hold her breath. As the footsteps faded off into the distant end of the hallway, interspersed with harsh voices telling curious inn guests to get back to their rooms, I heard the sound of furniture being knocked over.

"What the—? ARGH!"

CLANK. THUD.

"What are you—? AAAARGH!"

THUD.

"Sorry guys..."

The closet flooded with the light of Judas' lighting spell as Kari opened the door.

"We have to go," Judas lamented, expressing no remorse for the soldiers that Kari had knocked out. Ignoring the bodies that sprawled on the floor, dented helmets being the only difference between them and other Saillune troops, I went straight for the door. I chanted a small spell as I creaked the door shut, and by the time the yells came from the guards at the ends of the hallway, it was too late.

"Lock." Although it looked like nothing happened, the door sealed itself shut. As an afterthought, I turned the actual lock and dropped the bar. Without waiting to see what would happen, I dove for my satchel, which contained all my gear.

"Alright," I asided as I looked over to Judas. "Let's beat it."

* * *

My bag gave an empty puff as it landed on the top of the roof that we had gathered on. As I tightened my gloves, I turned to Judas and spoke with a hushed voice.

"All right," I sighed. "What happened?"

"Everything," he mumbled. The four of us held low to the roof in case of lookouts posted on the walls that divided the districts. If there was any advantage to our situation, it was that the moon was not out tonight. Except for the street lights below, the area was completely obscured by darkness, and our silhouettes were nearly impossible to see against the pitch black sky.

"What do you mean?" Emilia continued to press, her voice urgent. "Did something happen to my family?"

"No," Judas grunted, "but if we don't move quickly, I can't say that they're safe."

"Wha—?"

Judas shook his head at Emilia. "Not now. There's no time." Following that urgent response, Judas pointed to the next building over. The palace was closely visible in the districts up ahead. "We need to jump across the rooftops until we can find a dark alley to drop into."

"Wait a minute, Ju—" But my protests went ignored. He took a headlong leap across the narrow alley onto the next rooftop, magically assisting his landing so that he didn't make a heavy noise. Emilia went next, jumping across the divide and dropping onto the surface of the roof with the aid of a levitation spell. Kari and I went together using the same method. We continued this pattern for a few blocks until we came to the dividing wall between this district and the vast palace grounds.

The four of us dropped into the first alley we saw, and from there we began knocking off the patrols with my Sleeping spell as they passed by. Judas intercepted the falling bodies and carried them into the depths of the alleyway. Soon we had a neat pile of ten or fifteen soldiers sleeping soundly in the pile of myriad garbage and refuse.

_Saillune's not as sparkly clean as the travel brochure implies._

"Okay, that's the last of them on this block," I whispered to Judas. "Now, tell us what's going on here?"

Judas hummed lowly, as if he was considering the consequences of what he was about to say. Given a moment of uneasy silence, he finally conceded. "Fine, but keep your reactions quiet."

_That can't be a good sign._

Judas hit us with a grim tale of everything going wrong at once. "Syrius betrayed us all. Me, first of all."

_Well, that doesn't surprise me a whole lot._

"He was at the place he said he would be waiting, but he was there with a host of guards. I could sense them, but I thought they were the normal patrol units that are all over the streets nowaday. It all went well until they congregated around the square in such a way that I couldn't escape unnoticed. I realized that I had been had when the gates of the district fell shut, and when the guards came to arrest me. They addressed Syrius, respectfully, though, and allowed him to leave without trouble. I, on the other hand, was escorted to the palace's prison. Or I _was_ to be, that is."

"Heh. They made mistake number one, didn't they?"

"... I don't know what that is, but they did lead me into a lonely street with few patrols. With minimal effort, I broke my bindings and knocked out several guards."

_Well, that's mistake number three._ But I wasn't about to split hairs, so I let Jude go on.

"I then escaped and snuck my way gradually past the patrols to get back to the inn." Judas' tone took a graver edge than usual for the next comment. "Dragomir _knows_ we are here. I'm sure that it was Syrius who told him this."

I glanced over to Emilia and Kari. "I guess that means that it wasn't your fault that the cottage was destroyed, Emilia."

"Dragomir is a busy man," Emilia chipped in lowly.

I made a growl deep in the back of my throat and glanced at the palace walls. "You said Emilia's family was in deep trouble. Well, deeper than they already were. What did you mean by that?"

Judas folded his arms, a cocky smile fogging over his beguiled expression. "Syrius divulged some information before he retreated from the square." Judas glanced aside to Emilia, the smile fading away. "Emilia, stay calm with what I'm about to say."

I could feel our throats get tied into a knot. I tried to swallow, but to no avail. By the time I tried again, the news was already upon us.

"Dragomir wants to dispose of the royal family."

"What?"

* * *

Talk about a rushed trial. As it turned out, Dragomir wanted to have the royal family removed and swept under the rug without anyone knowing it. This guy obviously had no intention of letting go of the power he had acquired. Typical megalomaniac behavior. Dragomir was smarter than the average dictator hopeful, though. News of this hasn't reached the outside world thanks to the quarantine. What kind of a political impact would it have on the areas surrounding Saillune if and when he decided to go bigtime — world domination? Would they try to appease Dragomir, or would they declare war on Saillune at the drop of a hat? I've always hated politics.

_Why, oh why, did I have to be born into a generation that would be fighting one of those wars that you only ever read about in history books?_

Of course, there was no war yet. We had an opportunity to stop it before it happened.

We slowly stepped up to the walls as a group. Looking up at the thirty-foot reach of the massive barricade, I slowly devised a plan. "All right... I'll cast a fireball over there. While they're flooding the area to see where it came from, we'll blast through the wall. Then we'll—"

"No." It was Judas who interrupted and shot down the plan pre-emptively, naturally.

"Let me finish before you say no!"

"No. It was a terrible idea from the beginning. Making so much noise would alert _every guard in the city_. And maybe it's your thing, but I wouldn't like to fight every guard in the city."

_Hmph._ I didn't like it, but Judas had a point. If they knew that we were in the city, they wouldn't look elsewhere if they got a clear signal about our location.

"Why don't we just Levitate over the walls?" Emilia asked. It was a simple solution... _too_ simple. As it was, nothing that seemed simple to pull off has gone that way. There was something waiting to go awry with an what looked like an ordinary Levitation.

"No way."

"Huh?" To my surprise, it was Kari that rejected the idea outright. I furrowed my brows whilst addressing him. "What's wrong with Emilia's plan?"

Kari paced a few feet, stabbing at the air with a forefinger, his other arm folded across his chest. "I dunno if you hit your head too hard to remember, Rina, but there was that time when we were flying towards the city and—"

"—Oh yeah," I finished. We were shot down. "I see." Impressive of Kari to bring that point up, but I'm gonna have to subtract style points for insulting me as he made the point.

"The palace defenses are also probably stronger, and I dunno if I'm willing to chance that."

Kari drew his sword, turning away from us. "We're surrounded."

My blood ran cold when I scanned the area. Kari has some sharp senses to detect all these characters closing in on us. Judas and Emilia were equally surprised. I drew my sword, and Judas followed suit. Emilia stayed close to me and Judas, and Kari gestured over to his side.

"Follow me," he whispered intently. Kari led us out onto a wide street. It was broad enough so that the lighting from the street lamps didn't quite meet at the center, as if a black river ran through the center of the cobblestone. From the murky blackness emerged several Saillune soldiers, their weapons drawn. The one at the center of the formation with a more ornate helm, obviously the commander of the squad, spoke out to us.

"Tch. So you noticed us. It doesn't matter, as you must realize that you're surrounded."

"Typical soldier talk!" I shouted back. I spoke in a lower voice to Kari, Judas and Emilia. "I don't feel like talking it out with these guys, so let's just wipe the floor with all of them." Judas let out a heavy sigh and floated into a chant from the lowest note. Emilia sniffed deeply from behind me, however, and she stepped out boldly. She took down her hood and summoned up a lighting spell in dramatic fashion, the bright light reflecting off of her white clothes.

"Behold me! For I am Emiliana Mel La Saillune!"

The soldiers suddenly became a lot less brazen and began to break formation, each questioning the man next to him about the authenticity of Emilia's announcement. Emilia's very declaration seemed to demoralize many of the soldiers. But the captain's mouth dislodged and fell open as he immediately recognized Emilia.

"Silence. SILENCE. It _is_ the princess!"

"I demand that you release my family at once!" Emilia boomed. "This is an order! Justice is firm, but it has a forgiving side as well! Cease your support for this usurper, Sorin Dragomir, and my father may overlook your traitorous actions! See that it is the truth that I speak, and not lies like—"

Emilia's speech, which had done a good job of confusing the guardsmen, gave Judas ample time to finish a powerful spell. He stuck out from our group as he simply followed through with his spell, unlike me and Kari who were frozen in place, and Emilia, who was loud, front, and center.

_"Mega Brand!"_ Judas shouted. The ground rippled violently beneath our feet, but that wasn't the spell — the blast that threw the entire unit of soldiers into the air like so many scarecrows on a pile of fireworks was the spell. A few buildings were also torn from their structures, and the road was completely destroyed, and the sewer was exposed, and—well, you get the picture. But you do what you have to do to survive. The cloud of dust also probably gave us away to everyone, too.

"Great _going_, Jude," I snapped at him. And he didn't want _me_ using explosive spells because they would have been 'obvious'?

_Nope. That wasn't obvious at all, Judas._

"Well, now we have only one way to go!" I spoke with a laugh, deciding to make the best of it, and I ran back to the palace walls. I focused my mind on a chant while we took a short jog back to the great barrier. I slowed my pace just to get a little more time to finish the incantation and sheath my sword, and then I raised both of my hands and planted them both palm flush against the smooth surface of the wall.

"Blast Wave!"

The Power Words echoed in the night, leaving no doubt that I had shouted them. Nothing happened. Kari piped up as he approached from the back.

"... Where's the magic?"

"Damn it," Judas growled impatiently. "They've warded the walls, too."

"No!" I cried. I turned around instinctively. A powerful presence almost literally _grabbed_ my attention and turned me around. The others sensed it too, taking a defensive stance. My heart rolled up into my throat as I made out a rather unique fellow among the second host of soldiers that had arrived. He was obviously a cleric, but not one of low rank.

"So these are our... _guests_," the newcomer drawled in a distinguished, even voice. Emilia needed nothing more than his appearance to know who he was.

"Dragomir!"

So the big cheese just so turned out to be a handsome guy. Probably old enough to be my dad, but that didn't mean he had to be bad-looking. His hair was jet black and cut short, giving him an air of simplicity and sophistication. He was about as tall as Karius though not built as powerfully. The folds of white silk from the robe he wore flowed along with his movements as if they were liquid rendered into cloth, and a golden mantle rested firmly upon his shoulders. He bore a crozier in his right hand that was topped off with a centric cross set in a ring made of silver. It shone with a Lighting spell, acting as a torch. The jingle from the silver tassels that hung from his shoulder guards broke the otherwise still air as Dragomir extended a hand to Judas.

"Syrius did well, for once," he spoke with a peaceful voice. "Now if you will please come along with me, there is much to discuss before your imprisonment, Judas and accomplices."

The guards approached us without so much as a direction from Dragomir, but the observers soon saw that that was as _bad_ an idea as any. Emilia, brash girl that she can be, began the attempt to break through the line to get to Dragomir, and she started by running up to the encroachers with a loud battlecry.

"PACIFIST CRUSH!" She proceeded to contradict herself by kicking the living daylights out of them, even from her relatively small height. The energy she had been damming up all day suddenly exploded with a body count to prove it. It certainly explained Emilia's choice in footwear, and I marveled at her ability as the helmets flew and the armor dented.

_Wow. I'd _hate_ to be one of them right now._

The shrill sound of swords being drawn _én massé_ came next. Kari responded quickly, shouting as he whirled his sword around himself in a great arc. The wind just passed over the top of my head with a whistle as several sharp _clinks_ resonated off the stone road. The sound of swords clattering to the ground followed a second later, or rather the sound of sword _blades_, which Kari had hewn right off their hilts with his own.

_Very impressive, Kar._

Me, I was chanting a spell during all this. I was itching for some carnage, and now I had an excuse to get it.

_Metal retains heat well, right?_

"Flare Arrow!" As I announced the Power Words for the common spell, a dozen streaks of flame soared from the hand above my head and hit the soldiers who were still in awe of Kari's swordskill. The sound of their defeated screams was like music to my ears. Didn't this violate Emilia's 'do not kill' rule? Well, they should be pretty badly burned, but not badly enough so that they would die from it. At the moment, Emilia didn't seem to care much about her own decree, either.

_Ahh. Revenge at last._

Judas jumped into the crowd of those that had not been hit by my spell and began cracking heads. I angled my head over to Dragomir and began to chant a full-power Fireball.

_"O Source of all power, light which burns beyond—"_

"My, my!" Dragomir's voice pierced ominously through the rumble of the flames, and even over the cacophony of battle. "You _are_ a lively bunch. It's no wonder that the entire convoy was destroyed just outside the city." The priest stepped through the flames as his goons retreated, undaunted by our display. That wasn't encouraging. He glanced over to the melee around Emilia and spoke a few words beneath his breath, a serene smile on his face the entire time.

_... A spell!_ "Emilia! Watch out!" I cried, but perhaps too late.

"... _Rayfreeze_."

A golden glow of light surrounded Emilia. She stopped moving, and she widened her eyes just before she realized what was happening. She was then buried beneath a mountain of armored soldiers.

"No!" Judas shouted. In response he chanted furiously, attempting to finish a rather dangerous spell before Dragomir could counteract it. But Dragomir didn't try to chant a counterspell. Instead, he just smiled to us and shook his head.

"No. That's a very bad idea, my friends. You see, the princess is in _my_ possession now. It would be a shame if she got hurt, wouldn't it..."

Judas stopped his chant by biting his lip, as if he had to or else he would have finished it to completion. An angry growl echoed up through Judas' half-open mouth. I shook my head lightly as a signal to Kari, who stepped up behind me with his sword at the ready.

"Fine," I spoke for the three of us. "We surrender."

Kari looked at me as if I had completely lost it; for the second time that day, maybe I had. But as far as I could see, we weren't going to get into the palace without being allowed in somehow. From the easing of Judas' posture, he was fully compliant with me in giving up for the moment. The fake soldier routine probably wouldn't have worked again, as security was probably tighter at the palace, and the failed attempt at blowing the wall up with Blast Wave came as a real shocker to all of us. I just hoped that they wouldn't retain us so tightly that we couldn't possibly break out, either.

"... I'm glad we can agree on this." Dragomir turned to his guards and bobbed his head lightly to us. As I was being bound, I shook my head in regret.


	11. Chapter X: Of Gods, Demons, and Humans

To say that the guards were inhospitable would have been a compliment. If I were them, and if I knew whom I was escorting (theoretically speaking), I would fall to my knees and thank the Flare Dragon, Aqualord, Flarelord, Earthlord and Airlord that the prison was on warded ground. Respect was so short in supply among these most fanatical of Dragomir's guardsmen that even Emilia was treated like a common criminal. As we were led along in a line with our hands tied with some odd rope (save Emilia, who was carried in her still-paralyzed form), I took note of the structure of the central district.

The palace was an immense mansion with the rustic elegance of past ages preserved in white marble. Recent renovations made the palace sparkle in the ambient light of the lawn lighting despite the corruption it housed. As soon as the lot of us was arrested, Sorin Dragomir turned and faded off into the murky blackness of the direction he came in. Dragomir was every bit as powerful as I imagined, or at least he was _formidable_ if he could pull off such a high-level white magic spell as _Rayfreeze_ in the time it took me to warn Emilia.

_Is it too late to say, 'I have a bad feeling about all this'?_

At the very least, I got to take in a breath of fresh air and see the finest flora of the palace grounds before I was taken into what could have been my home for forever, for all I knew. Entry to the palace after the main gate was a white stone path that wound through a sea of neatly trimmed and well-cultivated grass. Further ahead down the path were three branches in the walkway. One led straight to the massive palace, which was further separated from the grounds by another layer of gated walls. The path to the left led to a complex of smaller buildings close to the palace, but not a part of it. From the looks of things, they were guesthouses and recreational suites. The path to the right led into a garden complete with a fountain and rife with flowering plants. It was relaxing and took some of the edge off the stressful situation we were in, as this was the path that we walked down. It worked a large, circular path around the huge central building, and another huge central building became visible.

This building that I spoke of was the very center of Saillune, the most protected zone in the entire world. The whole city's layout — the gigantic Rune Breaker — was superior inside the center of that temple. It was white in color, like the palace, but it was more gothic in its structure. It was laid out in the form of a giant compass, each arm pointing to a cardinal direction. The massive church was aligned so that the sun would stream light in through the windows at any time of the day. It was impressive, but it wasn't a terribly hope-inspiring symbol of mercy anymore. We walked past the imposing cathedral to a lonely building some distance beyond the garden and the temple. It just so turned out that this was the prison.

_I'd much rather be staying in the guest quarters. Think I have an option? ... Probably not._

I hesitated with each step I took, and with each little bit of resistance I put up it was another spear shaft that I took to the back. Each time I resisted more, keeping myself silent and protesting with only my body language. When the guards looked me in the face and badmouthed me, I only gave them a knowing grin, basically _inviting_ them to do their worst. I just _wanted_ an excuse to blow them to kingdom come. It was suppressed, yeah, but a fireball still would have caused quite a bit of havoc.

It reached a point where I was thrown aside onto the grass with a string of typical cuss-outs, and I screamed in an exaggerated, girly way to rile up the rest of my party. It resulted in a low-scale fight during which Kari and Judas cracked a few more skulls. I tried to cut my bonds with a simple Bram Fang spell, which requires no gestures, but I found out the hard way that the ropes were weird because they cut the flow of magic.

_No expense spared, huh?_

The last thing I saw was the end of a spear shaft before my vision went black.

* * *

I woke up with a throbbing headache in a dark, damp room with a hard floor. My back was soaked with sweat, and I was more than a little disoriented though I still noticed almost immediately that I was missing my mantle and sword belt.

_Ugh. Both family heirlooms in the same night. Mom is gonna kill me if Dragomir doesn't first._

As I sat up on the cold stone floor, I squinted through the darkness while feeling the sore spot on my forehead. The blood that I wiped off with my fingertips was only half-clotted, so I hadn't been out long.

"Nice of you to join us, Rina."

I turned in the direction of the familiar voice and saw Judas brooding in the darkness. My eyes reflexively switched over to the bars that separated him and me. The closer set of bars belonged to my cell, and then there was a narrow, empty walkway before the small square cell that housed Judas. He sat there, steeped in the shadows of his shelter, eyes leering from the darkness like those of a beguiled wolf.

I looked around after my vision stopped blurring, and in a cell adjacent to my own was Kari. He was curled up in the center of the cell, snoring contentedly and drooling all over the floor. That was to my left facing Judas; to my right was Emilia. She was far from asleep; she was doing the best she could to hold fast to an older woman through the bars separating them.

"Uh, Emilia?"

She turned to me, away from the woman. "Miss Rina! You're bleeding!"

I groaned. "Thanks for the news flash," I muttered. "Who is that you're with?"

"Oh yeah. This is my mother."

I looked up and saw the woman smile, though it was a weak, weary one. "Hi there."

The woman looked me over quietly for a minute before introducing herself in a quiet, comforting tone. "You can call me Feliciana." She was pretty down to earth for royalty. Feliciana was a woman with dark hair, fairly tall and bordering on Kari's height (yeah, I use him to compare everyone's height as you've noticed), and a little hefty. But she was by no means overweight, as she was very nicely proportioned, if I do say so from another woman's perspective.

_I wish I had her curves. What happened to _my_ hourglass physique?_

Across the corridor that bisected the two rows of prison cells — directly across from Emilia's mom — a large, looming figure took shape from the dim grayness of the prison. It was an obviously male figure of impressive stature, and he was clothed in white robes that seemed to sparkle with expensive embroidery. As I squinted again to get a better look at the figure, I recoiled all of a sudden as I thought I saw his eyes flash.

"Lighting!"

A strange, youthful voice called the spell from somewhere beyond my sight, and a ball of light unexpectedly appeared.

_... Oh yeah! White magic is exempt from the warding because the ward is created by white magic._

Lecture ahoy. Magic wards such as Rune Breaker and smaller wards seem to make an area almost completely impervious to magic because of the way magic works. The prevailing theory in the Sorcerer's Guild is this: magic is a disruption of the natural order caused by invoking forces from the Astral Plane to create an unnatural effect. Arrows of fire or ice don't make themselves, right? The exception to this rule is white magic, because it is a _part_ of the natural world. Thus, wards work by forcing all energy to flow naturally within the specified area. Unnatural energies get forced out of this plane as a result, creating the effect of magical immunity.

End lecture.

The corridor became illuminated by several orders of magnitude in an instant. The Lighting spell was made to be intense, and I judged it would last for another five minutes before flickering out. After my eyes adjusted to the brightness and I no longer had to squint, the scenery somehow seemed just as dark, gloomy and depressing in the spell-light as it did in the dark. In fact, it was probably _less_ depressing in the dark because that way I couldn't see just how claustrophobic the quarters actually were.

_Somebody save me._

Thanks to the lighting, I was able to see just who the monster in the cell across from Feliciana was. He stood a head or two over Karius from what I could tell, and he had a thick beard of black hair that was braided expertly, though that style was looking to come apart and desperately needed refreshing from an aide or some other stylist. His hair was the same black color, medium in length with tresses that tickled his massive neck muscles. The top of his head was balding, but from his face I judged that he could be no more than forty years old. To top off the look, he had a handlebar mustache that gave him an oddly contemplative look — as if he was contemplating _murder_, or perhaps just _assault and battery_.

As I suspected, there was a crazy light in his eyes.

"Well," the massive man drawled, "our cell-mates seem to be quite the motley crew indeed," so he mused. His voice was deep, so deep that my throat actually felt sore after hearing him speak just one sentence. A much younger voice echoed from down the corridor. Through the obscuring view of the bars on my side, I made out a figure that looked just like Emilia in the distance.

It wasn't Emilia, obviously, but probably Emilio. Emilia said they were twins, after all. _All twins look the same, right?_

"That they do, Father," Emilio commented. "That was quite the spectacular racket you caused out there, Emmy."

Emilia looked a little sheepish. She poked her forefingers together intermittently, speaking just above a squeak as far as tone was concerned. "Well, I didn't really cast any of the spells, Lio." Out of her sheepishness in an instant, Emilia swept her hands out towards Judas and me. "It was them — Mr. Judas and Miss Rina!"

The man, Feliciana, and Emilio all turned their eyes on Judas and me. Looking over at him, I saw that even _Judas_ shrank in the midst of their glares. Me, even more so. Being in a justice-loving land, I felt like a criminal defendant in the most one-sided trial in history. _My reputation isn't exactly squeaky clean, and who is most likely to be aware of dangerous individuals than royalty?_ I did the best I could with the situation I was given, so I waved at the three of them with the most sincere smile I could fake.

"H-Hey!" I greeted enthusiastically.

Silence. I pursed my lips shut and glanced to each person in the room. I cleared my throat, wondering if I had made a funny noise while talking, or if my voice had cracked. Only Kari's snoring broke the silence besides the typical, dungeon-esque _drip-drip_ of a leak I'd rather not know the location of.

"Rina... Erris?" puzzled Emilia's brother, his brows bent oddly, turning to his comparatively pensive father.

"The notorious childlike bandit slayer? Whose eyes glitter like the darkest fires of Hell?" he continued. "The flat-chested girl that slaughters villages and gorges on the blood of virgins in order to hold onto her youth?" And he went on. "The Hellmaster Made Flesh? The Rainbow Devil?"

"YES," I finally growled, my face, without a doubt, twisted with displeasure.

"Miss Rina," Emilio announced in a voice that sounded as strong as he could muster, "I, Emiliano Leo De Saillune, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your sorcery, though an utter failure in light of the fact that you were captured, was a brilliant exposition of your love of righteousness."

I stared. I didn't get to fully question Emilio's sanity; he answered it for me in the next instant.

"**For Great Justice!**" he cried as he thrust a defiant fist up into the air. Emilia and their father echoed the very same statement a second later.

"**For Great Justice!**"

There was a brief silence afterward, but before long Feliciana also brought a fist up to eye level, smiling absently.

"Well, I married into the family, but whoo-hoo. Go Justice." Feliciana recited the words in a normal tone; she didn't seem to be a yeller like the rest of the Saillune family. But nevertheless, Felicia punctuated the sentiment with a cute, feline smile.

I shook my head frantically, applying a Recovery spell to my throbbing wound. It was like a bad dream; I found myself in a jail cell stripped of my belongings and surrounded by lunatics. The throbbing pain in my stomach hadn't subsided yet, either. Rolling up my blouse for a second revealed some nasty bruising on my abs. I shot a quick glare over to Judas and barked at him.

"Hey!"

"What?" he answered in a tone readily dripping with acid.

"You still haven't apologized for hitting me and the others back at the inn!"

"And?"

"Uh... duh? Isn't it time you apologized?"

"... What good would that do us now?"

"Well, it would make me feel better for starters. I might be less inclined to get you back for it once we're out of here." I batted my lashes for effect. "So c'mon — will ya?"

"... No."

I huffed. "Fine!" I didn't feel like dealing with the sour-ass anyway. I had healing to do. Turning to Emilia's father, I called out to him.

"Hey! You! Uh... Phil, right?"

The man puffed out his great chest and thumped the center of it with a broad right hand. "I am Philionel the Third, King of the Holy Capital of White Magic, Saillune, and the Avenging Justiciar of St. Amelia!"

Like Emilia, he was long-winded with the simplest of things. As I glanced over to her, I noticed that Emilia's eyes were glossed over with what I can only describe as enraptured love and admiration for Phil. She held her hands clasped at her chest, and she was starry-eyed with awe. "Daddy! Your words can only be the admirable speech of a Champion of Justice!"

I glanced up uneasily at Feliciana. She only gave me the same clueless, catty smile as earlier, as if to say, "Don't worry, this is normal for them. Want a cupcake?" I wondered if the woman even realized that she was in prison anymore. Come to think of it, I wondered how she could have even been attracted to Phil. His complexion looked leathery from too much exposure to the sun, and he was as hairy as a gorilla. It was no comfort that he also looked like he sweats a lot. Much like his daughter, though, I had to say that Phil was at the top of his form physically. It didn't hurt that he was king, either, and buddy is it _good_ to be king.

_Well, except in this case._

I finished up my healing and grabbed a hold of two of the bars constituting my cell. "Alright, alright. Enough clowning for now." I darted my gaze to Phil and spoke forwardly. "I need to know what's going on here."

Phil suddenly went quiet, and he sat down on the floor of his cell in a cross-legged position. "Very well, Miss Rina! What do you wish to know?" The others among me also sat down or piped down. When the king spoke, it was time to play quiet mouse, it seemed. Or maybe it was common courtesy and nothing related to the king's position. Who knows, and — really — who cares?

"Well, lots of things," I muttered, half to myself and half to Phil. "But let's start with the head priest, Sorin Dragomir. Where did he come from?"

Phil gave me a pained expression, and he gripped his knees as he rocked back and forth on his regal buttocks. "Ah, Sorin," he spoke as if he had known Dragomir on a first-name basis. "When I met him back in my halcyon princely days, he was but a talented priest who claimed to be from across the Demon Sea."

I quirked a brow at that almost immediately. "Whoa. 'From across the Demon Sea'? That's a pretty tall and farfetched claim, even in these days," I remarked. "How do you know he wasn't pulling your leg? Or just a little lost in the head?"

Phil stroked his beard, continuing without reflecting on my thoughts. "Sorin was always a mysterious man. He came to Saillune claiming that he was only a priest seeking to further his knowledge of the healing and banishing arts. In the temple, he quickly became an admired figure for not only his dedication to knowledge, and the way he steeped himself in the library for days at a time, but also for the insights and almost otherworldly wisdom he possessed."

"You know," I interjected, "Dragomir doesn't sound like the sort who would be interested in political gain or pettiness like that."

"Indeed," Phil conceded. "Justice became a concern of incredible value to Sorin, and so he began a crusade of sorts." Phil paused to chuckle bitterly at the irony. It was rich and heavy, that's for sure. "A crusade that bordered on madness. Never did I imagine that he would come up with a Mazoku, though! Now _that_ was a touch of brilliance so conniving, so underhanded, and _so convincing_, that _I_ started to believe that I had associated with the blasted demons."

_Troubling,_ I understated in my mind.

"Did Dragomir show any signs of treachery before this debacle occurred?"

"Hmm," Phil droned. "So my beloved daughter has already informed you of what transpired here then, has she?"

_Well duh — we're in a prison. Even if she hadn't, I could've guessed!_

"Uh, yeah. Sorta'. That's kinda' the reason why I'm here — to get the full story, and to set things right." _And collect a sum for my troubles, if it isn't too much strain on the coffers, Your Highness._

Phil descended into a contemplative silence, his bushy brows knitting every two seconds or so. "Truly the fires of justice burn within your heart, Miss Rina, so I shall oblige you with this knowledge."

Glancing over across from my cell, I caught Judas coming off the end of an annoyed eye roll. _My sentiments, more or less._

"Okay," I simpered with a lack of confidence. "Let me have it!"

"Before leaving us to rot in this prison that I could swear I ordered it remodeled to better fit a kinder, more humanitarian side of incarceration, Sorin demanded to know about the Icon of Saillune."

I tilted my head. The alien name bounced around in my head a couple of times before it splurted out of my ears, a sign practically appearing over my head that read 'Rejected.'

"No clue," I muttered to Phil.

"The Icon of Saillune," he continued, "is a small statue of Ceiphied about _ye big_," he gestured with his bear paw hands, "and made of orihalcon metal. Otherwise, it is unremarkable."

_Ping._ It was like someone had turned a light on in my head. I stayed quiet, though, for the big guy was not yet finished talking. At this rate, it looked like there would be plenty of time for questions afterward.

"The Icon has a few very special properties about it. For one, it cannot be broken by normal means."

My mind flashed back to the night when I first met — or rather, fought — with Judas. He had managed to grab my bag and loot the contents for a moment. During that instant, he took the initiative of _smashing_ one of the statues; I had two. But I suppose Judas was taking the quickest route to finding out the real thing by giving it that stress test. As the memory dredged up some unpleasant feelings of being cheated out of a significant sum of money, I gave Judas a mocking look. He ignored me, as he was busy angsting over something, probably over why the water had to be so wet.

"Two, the Icon acts like a key."

I craned my head expectantly. _This_ is what I'd been waiting to hear. "Yes...?"

"The key," Phil muttered hesitantly, his voice becoming strangely low as he tugged at his collar, "can only be activated by a pure maiden of the Saillune Royal Family." At that, all eyes fell on Emilia. She smiled brightly and waved a hand to everyone else, but she seemed somewhat anxious about all that attention being focused on her. Or maybe it was just the humid atmosphere getting to her as well.

"So that is why Dragomir wanted Emilia so badly," I murmured. "Even if he had gotten the statuette — I mean, the Icon of Saillune — Dragomir couldn't have opened the lock himself." I could feel my face getting hot, my fists clenching themselves. "That means that his threat to hurt Emilia was just a bluff!"

"Don't be so surprised, Rina," Judas suddenly snorted. "Besides, what other way were we going to find into the palace grounds?"

_Feh._ Judas got me once again. Sometimes I didn't think ahead, and somehow I always came out of those situations looking bad. But for now, I concerned myself with the bigger matters and just reminded myself to hand out a nice hefty dose of physical abuse to everyone with a squeaky mallet when we were out of this mess.

"One last question, Your Highness—"

"Just Phil, please."

"Okay, Phil." I swallowed hard. My heart was getting in the way of my swallowing and breathing, and I could feel it fluttering against the top of my throat. I felt like I carried all the butterflies from the past year in my stomach — and trust me, it was _a lot_ of butterflies. I knew the news was not going to be good if it was something that a usurper like Dragomir wanted, but what I feared is that some sort of mega-death-engine-of-apocalyptic-destruction laid dormant beneath Saillune as a last-ditch weapon _in case of emergency_. That, or something equally heinous — a dark little secret of the Holy Capital. Now _that_ would be a scandal worth _millions_ to the right magazines.

_... Who or what has gotten into me? The Hellmaster? That's too much misdeed even for me. And I hate tabloids, anyway. Look what they've done to me._

Now came the million-copper question: "What exactly is sealed inside that vault?"

The air around me seemed to rattle with the anxiety of waiting for the answer. The Lighting spell that Emilio had cast earlier went out as if it was cued for the moment. As if the area had not grown darker, Phil dropped a heavy sigh and began to speak.

"Inside the vault..."

"... Yes?" I hung onto every word as if it was the last thing between me and sudden death. If I did not know better, I would have thought that Phil and I were the only ones in the entire prison complex.

"... resides something... that I am not familiar with."

CRACK. I think I nearly split my head open with the force with which I hit the stony floor. Note: leaning forward on a damp, slippery masonry floor is not a good idea. I felt a gentle nudging on my bare, padless shoulder accompanied by Emilia's soft voice simpering, "Miss Rina? Are you alright? You're bleeding again..."

I yawned once, then I let myself black out on the floor, mentally and physically exhausted to the point of not being able to move. That was enough for one day.

* * *

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed is that there was pretty much no difference between when I got tossed into the hellhole and when I woke up. Suffice to say, there was no way to tell if it was day or night. The dungeon was every bit as lively as the stories say, complete with a few dim torches to light the darkest and corners in the most impractical ways.

I gave the area the once over and saw that, to my delight, nothing had changed. Everyone was in pretty much the same position as before. One difference that I didn't much care for was that my back ached horribly, as if I'd slept in the shape of an 'S' and twisted my back into a painful contortion that pulled a few muscles and then some. The cell actually wasn't large enough to lie down outstretched in.

As I took my stiff body from the floor and leaned up against the wall, the one surface without uncomfortable steel bars, I and everyone else jumped at once to the harsh sound of a grinding steel door screeching on its hinges. It was ear-grating, to say the least, and at least loud enough to wake Kari with a start.

"Huh?" Kari gawked. "Where am I?"

"The finest resort we could afford in Saillune," I answered sarcastically.

"... It sure smells funny," Kari remarked, scrunching up his nose. He stopped and twisted his head towards the length of hall down to my left; it was from there that the noise of the door opening came, and, sure enough, there were several footsteps that were getting closer. I stood up, not wanting to look feeble before my captors. I scowled, but it was only then that the pain of another cut on my forehead caught me off-guard.

"Ow," I mumbled, and I raised a hand to estimate the size of the wound when a soldier stopped in front of my cell. I acted like he wasn't there, like I was too busy taking care of my own needs to notice his unimpressive stature. Four significantly more threatening people, though, accompanied him in the form of what looked like elite guards. They, too, wore armor, but it was more decorative and, as far as I could tell, enchanted to resist magic. Rather than a chainmail shirt or the like, these guys wore a robe. Their faces were completely obscured by the hoods that went with their mantles. I can't say that the idea of raising hell didn't cross my mind, but these guys gave off a threatening presence. Just as I was sizing up the competition, the normal soldier addressed me.

"Rina Erris," he announced as he unlocked the door to my cell, "The Head Priest wishes to see you in the temple."

Now that was as startling a request as any. I watched the door open, my hands balling up into fists on their own. "Wait a minute," I hissed. "How did you people know my name? And what would Dragomir want with me?"

The soldier smiled unpleasantly, brandishing a length of the same rope that was used to bind my hands on the way into prison. "His Holiness does not confide these matters in lowly soldiers such as myself. But if it comes from Priest Dragomir, then it can only be just. As for your reputation... well, it goes without saying." He chuckled snidely.

_Gah. I hate zealots._

"Fine, fine. But can we leave the ropes out of the deal this time? My wrists were killing me last night."

The soldier seemed to consider the idea for a moment. No doubt, he was feeling sorry for a pretty girl like me having to go through all this. Well, that was the reason I gave to myself. The elite guards stood outside in the hall, ominously still and silent. A minute of contemplation went by, and the soldier stepped back.

"Tch. Fine with me. It's not like you can do anything while you're here, anyway," he commented with a laugh. I narrowed my eyes and shook my head, biting half of my lower lip to keep myself from saying something that would get me punished.

_I'll fight back. It's just a slippery slope from there._

As I took a few steps towards the door of my cell, I also took a few glances at the rest of my cellmates. Kari had this stern look of concern in his green eyes as he watched me leave. Judas and Emilia were exchanging glances and mouthing a few words to each other, probably just as puzzled as I was with what this all meant. The rest of the royal family members were silent — unnaturally silent. That did not do anything to settle my jumpy stomach.

_Hic._

* * *

I got to see all the scenery I missed while I was out cold the previous night. The exit at the end of the dungeon just so happened to be the only way out from the looks of things. Further inside were just more empty cells waiting to be filled. I walked along the narrow walkways with two of those tough-looking guardsmen in front of me and two of them behind me. The ordinary punk who did all the talking was way out in front, leading the group and on some sort of self-esteem high.

I could almost picture the kind of stories he was gonna tell his drinking buddies when he got off work. _"Hey guys! You know what I did today? I totally bossed Rina Erris around! Yeah, I knew it was dangerous, but I wasn't scared. I could take that flat-chest any day!"_

"That bastard," I scoffed at the thought, getting a wary glance from the soldier out in front. Our eyes met, and I only gave him a shiny smile. He turned away uneasily, but not before giving me a second fleeting glance.

Unusually, there were no stairs in the prison. As soon as we came to the large steel door that we had heard screaming earlier as it opened, I realized that it was the only thing between the lot of us and fresh air. A few observations pointed out to me the location of a few storerooms adjoined to the hallway that we stood in.

_That must be where our gear is stashed._

The door opened to the outside world with the same amount of racket that it caused opening in. It came to rest with a deep _clank_, and my feet began to guide themselves as I stepped out into a hazy, muggy morning. The fact that I hadn't slept well was still weighing me down, and it didn't get any better even as we reached the temple wherein Dragomir awaited. The two elites stepped out to each side and opened the large wooden double-doors, ushering me in. The normal idiot just stood aside as they did their duty. He gave me one last lopsided smile as I walked in through the door, and just before I stepped out of his sight I gave him the finger.

_Clunk_. The doors shut tight behind me. I paused for a second to take in the breathtaking architecture of the atrium. As far as I knew, I had entered the temple from the east side, seeing how the sun was behind us when I walked in. Light streamed into the center of the massive cathedral to illuminate a single statue of a colossal dragon looking right down at me.

"Ceiphied," I uttered to myself. It was then that everything went screwy.

First, the lights seemed to fade out and disappear. Then the building, if you'll bear with me, actually seemed to _stretch_ into a deformity until it was unrecognizable. Obviously, this all scared the crap out of me. What would you do if the space around you began to warp wildly all of a sudden?

To a shock too great to really describe, I found myself floating — not standing — in the blue vastness that kept popping up in my dreams. There was no sun, no obvious source of light. Neither was there any way to really determine distance, and it was deceivingly cold. In this emptiness, a sense of extreme loneliness clawed at my heart, driving me to a point of near-panic. As I gazed on helplessly from where I hung suspended in space, I heard my heart beat slowly, much louder than I ever had before.

_"My mind is my power."_

A voice without a characteristic I could describe rippled through the void. My loneliness vanished, and I felt comfortable for a total time of two seconds before I realized that there was no one close enough — or even present — to say those words.

The next blink of my eyes brought me back to the temple. I was quick to draw in as deep a breath as I could, and I noticed now that the temple was nowhere near as quiet as that desolate sea of nothingness that I had seen.

_... W-wait a minute! Sea of Nothingness? Is it... is it possible?_

Again there was a shock too great for me to describe fully, but it was as if someone had injected something frozen into my head. It hurt immensely, and I stumbled onto a pew in the worship space where I sat for a few minutes. I wracked my brain relentlessly, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have much time to go on with it.

"Rina Erris," came out from ahead of me, a soft voice echoing my name against the ornately styled interior of the temple. I looked up expectantly, finding Dragomir standing just askew of the statue of Ceiphied.

"Hmf. Dragomir," I stated with reserved contempt. Standing up, I intended on making eye contact with this 'just' man and sizing him up for myself. "I have a _lot_ of questions for you, priest. You can do me a favor by answering them."

Completely opposite of what I expected Dragomir to do, he only gave me a friendly smile and paced around the statue, maintaining his distance. "Very well. Ask me what you will, Rina."

_Heh. Smart man._

"First of all," I started with a bothered tone, "since when were we on a first name basis? No, I worded that wrong. Since when were we on an _any_ name basis? I don't remember coughing up my name to your flunkies."

Dragomir stopped and turned to look at me, his body and crozier remaining where they stood. "You are quite an infamous personality on this continent, Miss Erris. Despite the news of your exploits and misdeeds, as copious as it is, I had no intention of seeking you out. At first, that is."

It was a pretty sketchy explanation to say the least. But powerful priests like Dragomir tend to have a hand in everything, and resources that I probably would rather not know about. So instead of pressing the matter further, I waved my hand dismissively and fired off another question.

"Alright, alright," I started while crossing my arms. "Why is it that you want the statuette — the Icon of Saillune — so much?"

Dragomir's calm expression became almost _elated_ when I asked about his needs of the royal vault. _Something is very wrong with this picture._

"Are you familiar with a tome entitled Grimoire Inverse, Rina?"

I furrowed my brow at the mention of that book. I gave one of the stained glass windows an uncomfortable look, half-expecting it to explode into a million pieces with my party jumping in for an all-out brawl to take back control of the kingdom. But my daydream was not to be, and I just shook my head to Dragomir while biting my lip.

It was a lie that I was not familiar with it, of course, but in case he knew something that I didn't, I wanted to hear it. It was a powerful book of sorcery, after all. Allegedly, anyway. I hoped as I looked on that he would get condescending and start dropping hints and clues as to why it's relevant to the current discussion, and where I might find it after I squash his little insurrection here.

_I'm so damn clever._

Dragomir predictably raised a brow, face truly skewed with surprise. "That such a powerful sorceress as you are reputed to be knows not of the Grimoire Inverse is quite... shocking."

_Hook, line, and sinker, as Dad would say._ I shrugged to him, letting him continue uninterrupted. Dragomir turned to the statue of Ceiphied, as if waiting for a sign to inspire him to speak. The way the temple was designed, though, he didn't need to face a direction to make his voice heard from the center.

"To accurately explain the Grimoire Inverse, I must take you back to 200 years ago." He took a breath, and started with a gesture that looked like he was stroking his chin in thought. "Around 200 years ago, at the beginning of the Modern Age, there lived a sorceress by the name of Lina Inverse. You are familiar with Lina Inverse, correct?"

I nodded without hesitation. "Lina Inverse was a _powerful_ sorceress who wielded immense force, great knowledge, and a deep understanding of the nature of sorcery. But Lina's sadistic cruelty and self-centered nature far surpassed even her magical ability," I stated just as the history book I studied from had said. I had my doubts to its accuracy; it seemed biased, what with the book's absolutist tone regarding her. Research on Lina Inverse is forbidden at the Sorcerer's Guild, though, and no other place seems to have any reliable information on her.

For a while now, I've believed that Lina was just an exaggerated legend for that reason. Either that, or she was every bit what the stories said and people were afraid.

"Hm," Dragomir chuckled once. "There you are." Dragomir began pacing once again, his robes always catching up with his body before he took another step. "Lina Inverse supposedly held many secrets that helped her become as powerful a sorceress as she was, secrets that she was not willing to share with the Guild. The Sorcerer's Guild _wanted_ these secrets at any cost, but Lina Inverse was a sorceress so dangerous that even the Guild feared her. It was believed that she kept a record of her research and discoveries until her untimely death from some mysterious illness."

Dragomir stopped pacing as if to emphasize his next statement. "It was safe to assume that the Guild seized upon the opportunity presented by Lina's death to attempt to obtain the Grimoire Inverse, as it came to be called."

That's true. The Guild had its fair share of shifty involvements, this one being the most rumored at the Guildhouses. Naturally, the Guild leaders refuse to talk about any possible wrongdoing on their behalf. Supposedly, according to one historian in Zefielia that I met once, Lina's husband — better known as the Swordsman of Light — protected the Grimoire Inverse from the Guild's seekers. The Swordsman of Light was so-called because his sword was reputedly one that had a blade made of pure light.

That, too, apparently went missing when he did.

"Okay," I said as I flashed a thumbs up in sarcasm. "But what does that have to do with, you know, putting Saillune beneath your boot?"

Dragomir's smile waxed creepy as he spoke. "You can add, Miss Erris. A forgotten vault whose contents no one knows about, and a method of getting in so precise that it could only possibly be done by a virginal daughter of Saillune? This is no simple magic lock, my friend. Something valuable lies under this lock." Dragomir turned away from me, pausing a moment before speaking. "The Grimoire Inverse lies interred within this very vault."

I shook my head quietly. "How can you be so sure of that, huh? It could be a fake, you know. And a kingdom isn't gonna spend a few tons of gold on what sounds like a pain-in-the-ass security system for the sake of one sorceress' research."

"Indeed?" Dragomir posed before continuing. "How can I be, Miss Erris? You know that there is only one way to be sure of something."

_Very true,_ I admitted silently. When the silence came again, I laughed through a sniff. "Is that all? You've taken over a kingdom just for this? You want to get your hands on Lina Inverse's cake recipes?"

"Hm," Dragomir huffed. "Be as insolent as you wish, Miss Erris. But there are many other things to be had within the vault. One of these is also possibly the sword that defeated the Sorcerer's Guild."

I dropped my smug act, cold dew forming on my forehead. I'd heard of the sword he just described, too.

"The Sword of Light?" I asked clumsily. Dragomir turned his head to me and posed another question.

"How can you be sure that there is only _one_ Sword of Light?"

I thought I was ready to explain my reasoning on why there could only be one Sword of Light, but I suddenly found myself catching my own words halfway off my tongue because they didn't jive the second before I spat them out. In the end, I just stilled my mouth and glared off to a side. "I can't be."

"Precisely," Dragomir emanated with an air of smug superiority. I resisted the urge to run up to him and kick him between the legs out of spite while he continued. "As you might know, Lina Inverse was married to the Swordsman of Light. His name was... Gourry Gabriev, I believe."

That moment froze my heart for longer than a surprise should. _WHAT? G-Gabriev? It could— it might— could it?_

As far as I knew, 'Gabriev' wasn't a very common surname. _Anywhere_. As fate would have it, my mom's maiden name is Gabriev. But it was strange, because no one seemed to care about her name otherwise. Just the same, I always thought it was strange how nobody seemed to know the Swordsman of Light's real name until now. Now I had more questions about the swordsman than about the treasure itself.

"What's wrong?" Dragomir droned, his tone amused. "You look as if you've seen a ghost..."

My eyes darted around for a second until I smiled knowingly. "Just something I ate."

"But anyhow," Dragomir continued, "after Lina Inverse died, it was the Swordsman of Light, Gourry Gabriev, that repelled all of the Guild's attempts to take the Grimoire Inverse. His sword was said to be impervious to magic, making him all but invincible against even the most powerful mages the Guild could offer up. After a while, Gourry, being the selfless soul he allegedly was, left the Elmekia Empire to take the commotion brought about by his presence away from his family and home."

Dragomir paused and raised a forefinger, tapping his crozier's end against the masonry floor. "Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev were supposedly friends of St. Amelia, the last Saillune Queen of the Former Age." He turned to me and began taking slow steps, announcing a word with each methodical stride. "That. Brings. Us. Here..."

_Tap._ The crozier seemed to echo deeper than the other reverberations in the vast temple. It was safe to say that I was officially freaked out. Dragomir displayed immense knowledge alright. I sensed no deceit from him. His motives still seemed a bit cloudy, though.

_Something is very, very wrong here,_ I thought. I was beginning to feel small in his presence. Then again, I lacked an incredibly important part of myself within these walls: my sorcery. Now, assuming that everything that Dragomir said was true, I only needed to know _why_ he wanted these things.

"Dragomir," I spoke, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible. "Just _how_ do you know all this?"

"A fellow priest told me, Miss Erris. He told me many things — why, he even told me about you."

That news made me nervous, alright. "And how did _he_ know all this?"

Dragomir only smiled and shook his head. "I asked him the same question myself. But he insisted it was a secret_.'_"

_Ugh. Stupid shady priests and their secrets._ Somehow, though, that doesn't surprise me.

"But he said that I would need you to actually obtain the Grimoire Inverse; Rina Erris, a young sorceress with _hair_ dark as the twilight violet, and _eyes_ as red as the bloody sunset. Such unusual features..." With a sleepy smile, Dragomir turned away from me and began to walk back towards the center of the atrium. "That same priest, at length, told me that you are the descendant of Lina Inverse herself."

To say that I accept revelations like this easily is a lie. There were many suggestions, mainly because of my reputation and Lina's. But would _you_ believe that you're related to someone famous who lived a long time ago without some sort of indelible proof? Yeah, I didn't think so. But now, I saw one way of proving it — the Grimoire. If I managed to get the Grimoire like Dragomir suggested only I could, that would put an end to the controversy.

_And this mess._

"Something troubles you, Miss Erris," Dragomir interrupted during the thinking time I was taking. "And I... can sense it. A darkness deep within your soul..."

_Gulp._

"Yeah, yeah," I interrupted back, trying to keep the man from disturbing me even further than I already was. "There's one more thing I need to know: what do you intend to do with all this?" I gestured with my arms to the entire temple, basically making it a metaphor for Saillune.

Dragomir chuckled, but it wasn't even _close_ to friendly. I gulped and took a few steps back to the entrance. With an oddly rueful voice, Dragomir proceeded to explain himself. "The royals have no place here anymore. Under their leadership, Saillune was misled and complacent in its mission of 'justice.' Once I make them _disappear,_ I shall continue on to Ralteague. Kalmaart. The Alliance. Elmekia. Dils. Zefielia..."

_Yup. World domination._ I put my face to my palm in my mind. I kept still outwardly.

"... Finally, the mighty Lyzeille Empire. I shall use these artifacts to unite all of humanity for a single purpose, Miss Erris."

I waited for the answer, but he didn't say it on his own. Tired of stroking his ego by acting interested in his evil plans, I sighed. "And what is that, mighty priest?"

Dragomir craned his head to show an amused smile on his face. "Such sarcasm. Tell me, Miss Erris — what do you think a priest wants the most out of his services?"

_I dunno. Fame? Power? Glory? You tell me, holy one._

"... To annihilate the darkness that plagues our world, Miss Erris. All of this—" Dragomir paused to gesture out towards the statue of Ceiphied before him. "—all of this is for that one purpose of serving the greater good. And I... _I_ intend on uniting all of this Continent to finally destroy the Demon King of the North."

"The Demon King?" That made it official — Dragomir was off his rocker, and clearly a foreigner. King Dils tried that some eight hundred years ago, but he failed. The grisly accounts of the fate that befell the King of Dils for his opposition to the Demon King of the North are multiple and graphic. Believe me, Dragomir's plan was a nightmare scenario waiting to happen. Specifically, it was a nightmare scenario that I planned on not becoming a part of.

"Forget it, then," I snarled to Dragomir. "I'm not gonna help you with your elaborate suicide plan. Leave me — us — out of it."

"Worry not," he commented with a smile, walking away from me. "I shall leave you out of it, once I have Saillune's artifacts in my hands."

Dragomir's presence vanished behind the statue of Ceiphied. The voice in the back of my head, my intuition, told me to _chase_. I had too many questions unanswered, so I did — I took off in a sprint for the space behind the looming likeness of Ceiphied, the Flare Dragon. My heart raced unnaturally, and I realized that there was a strong feeling of urgency and danger that had taken ahold of me. But as I reached my goal, one of the elites appeared from the darkness of the corridor that laid ahead. I stopped, taking a step back. But as I darted my eyes to another route, I saw another one of the elite guards blocking my way. I turned, and there were the other two.

_They appeared... without using the door._ Something told me that I didn't stand a chance against them in a fight right now. Surrounded, I put my hands up in surrender.

Just when I thought it was all clear, Dragomir's voice boomed through the cathedral from somewhere that I couldn't see.

_"If you resist my rule, young Rina, then I can only assume that you are tragically in league with the Demon King, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu. Do realize... that I cannot be dissuaded in this, my mission."_

I kept quiet. The nausea that had formed in my stomach was too much to let me speak.


	12. Chapter XI: The State of Denial

I don't remember much of my trip back to the prison. In addition to my turning stomach, I was also consumed by troubling thoughts and enough unanswered questions to give Former Age philosophers an aneurysm. I was only spared a necessary frontal lobotomy when the horrendous screeching of that huge metal door broke my thoughts and, very nearly, my eardrums.

I was unceremoniously led back into the room, and almost immediately I met with the concerned gazes of my fellow prisoners. Well, except for Judas, who seemed to be up to something. My cell's door was opened, and I was shoved in by one of the hooded guardsmen. The door was shut with eerie patience, and the four figures turned and as one vanished down the hall, then around the corner.

The shrill howl of metal echoing down the halls was the last indicator that we were alone in here.

"Miss Rina," Emilia began tentatively. I smiled weakly and put a hand up to her, stopping her mid-sentence.

"Heh!"

That garnered me a few odd stares. But I went on with my planned pep talk nevertheless.

"They can knock me down, but they'll never break me! I'm Rina Erris, after all!"

From the fire in Emilia's eyes (and from the rest of her family, for that matter), my short speech had a morale-boosting effect on my cellmates. But as usual, reality gets its stupid way eventually. My legs, already shaky and unstable, gave way beneath me as they folded like so much taffy.

"Ow!" I whined. "That's not supposed to bend _that_ way..."

Kari took one glance at me and went back to knocking his pewter cup against the bars of his cell. I took short note of that detail and noticed that there were empty trays in everyone's cell, spare mine; it had a full tray, though "full" is rather generous a term, especially in this case. My meal for the day was exactly one loaf of stale bread with a strip of dried, unidentifiable meat and a side of a dead moth with some funky looking water to drink.

_Fate sure has a penchant for kicking you in the crotch; yesterday I indulged sinfully in multi-course meals for all times of the day, and today I get to eat a pathetic excuse for a meal that I wouldn't consider fit for consumption by any lowly bandit._

_ ... Maybe._

"Rina?" It was Kari who spoke as I poked at my bread to make sure that my seeing it moving was just a trick of the eyes.

"Yeah Kar?" I responded feebly, clearing my throat afterwards.

"You look like you're going to keel over." He blinked twice at me with his dark green eyes, his face crossed with a highly unusual expression of studiousness. "Are you going to be alright?"

I stopped poking at the bread and put a hand on my forehead. The leg that I fell on was all pins and needles by that point, so I moved it gingerly to get some blood flowing in there. Everything felt wrong to me. My skin was pallid and clammy, I felt grimy all over, and at any moment I was going to upchuck yesterday's meals over the entirety of my cell. I resisted, because I _refused_ to have to sleep in it and let the situation add insult to injury. I gave a half-sick glance to Kari and forced another smile.

"I just gotta take a load off, ya know?" I acted as if I was going to lean back on a soft, fluffy, comfortable velvet cushion with my arms behind my head.

_Gee. That actually makes me feel worse about my condition._

"Miss Rina!" Emilia huffed in an uncharacteristically assertive voice that really got my attention. "Cut the crap! What happened out there?"

After seeing what Emilia did to the guards in the city, I had a newfound respect for Emilia — for both her guts and for her brawling. Knowing that it could have been a long time in that cell, with Emilia being my next-door neighbor, I rolled over on the hard floor and focused a sullen look at her.

"Emilia... St. Amelia..." I teetered off my beginning awkwardly. _Damn!_ I cursed in my mind. _I had it just a second ago! St. Amelia... what? THINK, Rina, THINK. GUH. MY MIND IS A TRAIN WRECK._

"St. Amelia?" Emilia echoed with a slight head-tilt. She had since waxed demure, drumming a forefinger against her cheek as she gripped her chin. "What about St. Amelia? Did Dragomir say something about her?"

"Yes," I said while snapping my fingers, and doing a very poor job of it. I crossed my eyes condemningly at my normally deft fingers and continued. "Dragomir said that St. Amelia had a few close friends—"

"Ooooh," was the sound that a deep growling voice made from the back of the cell diagonally across from Emilia's. Our attentions turned there as King Phil III emerged from the conveniently placed shadows in his cell.

"St. Amelia's troupe, the Just Four!"

"Er, come again?" I requested. I poked one of my ears, wondering if the screeching door had actually messed up my hearing. But no; Phil repeated what I'd heard the first time.

"The Just Four — an invincible band of heroic adventurers that brought peace, love, and _justice_ to all of this land of Saillune and beyond!"

There was a short silence after Phil's bold proclamation. Everyone else was either taken aback by the force with which he spoke or the ridiculous heights of his claims.

"You're joking, right?" I asked with a chuckle. The look I got from Phil was enough to melt stone, or, in this case, keep me from making a derisive remark like that to a justice-obsessed monarch in the future.

_Note to self: never interrupt a Saillune Royal during his or her most impassioned justice spiel. It always ends with some sort of humiliation._

"Anyhow!" Phil continued, the crazed gleam of zealous love for law and order in his eyes, "The Just Four were a hardy and mighty group! Of course, there was St. Amelia, who was at the time but a princess of around Emmy's age—"

I glanced at Emilia to notice her proudly smiling towards me, as if she expected the recognition of her ancestry. I flashed a weak grin to her while passively listening to the rest of Phil's tirade.

"—then there was Zelgadiss, who was perhaps St. Amelia's closest friend." Phil stopped to hum in contemplation while pacing the same three feet. "If the circumstances surrounding them weren't so dire, then perhaps they would have been married."

"Dire?" I asked stupidly. Why stupidly? You'll see.

"Dire, yes. Zelgadiss was a chimera, remarkably of the same kind that Mr. Judas over here is: exactly one-third human, brow demon, and rock golem."

I glanced over to Judas. Though he was distracted, as soon as his name was invoked, Judas returned my glance with a hostile leer, and his posture only made him that much more unfriendly looking. Just when Phil opened his mouth to go on to the people I'd been expecting and waiting to hear about, Judas interjected with a same time startling-yet-not-so-shocking revelation.

"Zelgadiss is, or was, my ancestor."

"Wha—?" I choked out, hoisting myself up a little bit with the help of the cell bars.

"Yes," Judas went on. "I know this for certain. My family values its history, so they preserved every bit of our heritage... even the uncouth details. It's the only reason I have an idea of what's happening to me. More infuriating is the fact that there is no _how_ or _why_ about it, which is why I came to Saillune."

From the tone of the last sentence, I suspected that Judas had nothing more to say on the subject. So, with that knowledge in mind, I turned a curious glance back to Phil.

"And the last two... I can probably guess them." But he wasn't going to let me. He just went ahead and continued with his history lesson.

"Lina Inverse..." Judas looked up. If his ancestors associated with Lina's, it could only be expected that he was well-informed of her. I doubted he would have learned through other means such as the Sorcerer's Guild, as they probably wouldn't have been too friendly to him based on appearance alone. I cringed at the thought, but even more painful things were yet to come.

"What to say about Lina Inverse?" Phil went on. "Some say that she was Ruby-Eye in disguise. But here in Saillune, we know the truth; we know that Lina Inverse was a _true_ Champion of Justice! Her methods _were_ a bit questionable, sometimes, but she always had her heart in the right place." Phil lowered his upthrust fist after a minute and bowed his head solemnly as if to pay respects to her grave.

_As if she's seeing this, Your Highness._

"So that leaves Gourry Gabriev..."

Kari just then made a very, very strange choking sound. It was the kind of sound that a person would make if they were eating a hard-boiled egg and a sudden jab from behind made them swallow the entire morsel whole. I gave Kari a critical glance and shook my head.

"What's wrong now?"

"N-nothing!" Kari lied. I could _tell_ he was lying. When he lies, he always stutters, his eyes cross, and his left brow makes this really nifty 's' shape as it creases.

"_Tell_ me, Kar!" I tried to be threatening from the floor of my cell, half-dead and separated from my de-sworded swordsman partner by a few inches of thick iron bars.

"B-but I promised Grandpa that I wouldn—"

"NOW, or I'll summon a bunch of trolls to give you one hell of a wedgie when we get out of here!"

"Y-you can do that?"

"The hell I can! I'm a sorceress, remember?"

Emilia shook her head, retreating to the corner furthest from my cell. There she leaned, eyeing me like an annoyed housecat. Felicia glanced curiously from Kar and me to Emilia, and again in reverse.

"Lovers' spat," Emilia asided to her mother quietly. I only remember a tin tray and some of its contents ricocheting off of Emilia's head as it snapped back past her shoulders. The princess with a lack of forethought then slumped down into the corner with glazed eyes that practically read 'K.O.' Felicia didn't seem to care about her daughter's injury, and she only smiled as cluelessly as I expected Kari to in the same situation.

"Oh, I see."

She was soon drowned out by Kari and me.

"Fine! Fine! I'll tell you, but only in a _whisper..._"

I rolled my eyes and scooched closer to Kari's side. "Fine. Lay it on me, blondie."

Kari leaned as close as he could to my ear between the bars. He then whispered in a voice so hushed, so shaky, that I could barely make out what I was hearing through the rustling of his warm breath rushing past my ear.

It was a bomb. I literally felt my eyes dialate to pinpoints, and the fever I had suddenly turned into hypothermia.

"**KYAAAAAAAA!**"

* * *

"Miss Rina!" Emilia's light voice rippled through the haze of my headache.

_Shut up and let me sleep._

"MISS RINA!" This time it was not only Emilia, but the whole damned Saillune family.

"Rina..."

I woke up to see Kari's face sideways against the floor of the prison. His eyes locked with mine, and an idiotic smile creeped across his lips.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

CRUNCH. It doesn't take many neurons to imagine what happened. But I will describe it in excruciating detail simply because I enjoyed it that much. While he was still smiling that _stupid_ smirk of his, I reached back my right hand and gave him a _haymaker_ in the nose. In my exhausted state, I didn't know that I could muster that much strength into a single punch, but there it was — Kari rolled and flipped across his cell until he went THUNK upon the bars on the opposite side of his cell.

Kari sat up, holding his nose with an eye cringed shut. It looked like there was a rivulet of blood trickling from it, and he shook his other fist at me while resisting the urge to sneeze. "Man! You can't take a joke, Rina!"

I was on my feet immediately, gripping the bars to his cell tightly and trying to shake them so hard that I actually thought I would rip them off their bases. I yelled back at Kari without hesitation. "And I _suppose_ what you told me in the whisper was just a sick joke, too?"

"No!" he shouted. "I'm really serious!"

I could feel my breath quicken. I turned toward Judas first, giving him the most wearied gaze I could manage. Seeing how even he looked mildly disturbed, I'd say I did a good job of it. I then zombie-crawled over to Emilia and placed my hands on the bars. I calmly wedged my forehead in between two bars and craned my head slowly, scraping the skin against the cold iron. A few strands of my hair plucked loose, but I was beyond caring. I don't know why Emilia looked so terrified; I was just trying to cool my head against the cold iron bars. Maybe it was the look in my eyes.

"P-please calm down, Miss Rina?" she tried to bargain. "Please?" Emilio added from the back, foolishly thinking that it would lend attractiveness to Emilia's request. I laughed at her — them! — with a crazed grin on my face. I sighed as if I had just had a good laugh, and I made my tone dead serious.

"Phil."

The anxiety of the room was palpitating.

"Now, clear just one thing up for me." I continued staring ahead at the endless darkness that lay beyond Emilio's cell as I flatly stated this most critical of questions.

"Lina Inverse and... Gourry Gabriev. They... you know... _married_... right?"

"Why yes!" Phil answered readily, clapping his huge hands together to make a deep boom rather than a clap like was customary. "The two even showed up at St. Amelia's coronation ceremony! It was really quite obvious even before that, though."

I thought I felt my appendix burst.

"Miss Rina?" Emilia stuttered.

"I'll be quick," I muttered. "Dragomir said that I am Lina Inverse's descendant."

I didn't get the response I was expecting. There was only silence. Low, thick, loud, torturous silence.

"... So what?" Judas brusquely shattered the silence with his brutal bluntness. Whoo, alliteration! "That doesn't mean anything."

"The hell it doesn't," I retorted. "That's why Dragomir dragged me out of here earlier. He said that he needs me to obtain... _it._"

"... Oh. That is bad." Emilio was one to summarize things in the most painfully succint fashion available, as I found out.

"But," Emilia started this time, "that doesn't explain why you suddenly flipped out and fainted like a wuss just now!"

_WUSS_?_ I will blast you, missy, princess or no!_

"If _you_ knew what I knew and _heard_ what I heard from Kari, you would be fainting, too!"

The words still rang in my ear like the toll of a church bell.

_'My last name isn't really... well — it's 'Gabriev,' but Grandpa told me that it's a bad name to use outside of home...'_

Those words replayed in my mind over and over again. Hell, the whole _scene_ replayed in my head over and over again. I stuttered as I tried to tell the rest of my cellmates, but I only looked like a sputtering idiot at the end of each attempt. Judas, finally tired with my incoherency, turned to Kari and called out to him.

"Just what did you tell her that is making her act like more of an imbecile?"

Kari shifted a bewildered gaze towards the hallway leading out. "Just my last name..."

"GABRIEV!" I shrieked. "Kari's real name is Karius GABRIEV!"

"See?" Kari replied with an air of resignation. "I don't get her."

Unfortunately for me, it actually looked like Kari did not _get it._ I think the others, from their almost sorrowful expressions, knew what that meant. My strength back, I strolled over to Kari and grabbed his collar. I pulled him as close to myself as I could without cracking his skull open against the bars to talk him down. As usual, he didn't resist, but just looked elsewhere as if he had no interest in what I was about to say.

"Kari, listen to me. Are you _really telling the TRUTH_?"

"I said yes!" he yelled, his voice cracking at the volume he reached.

"Well fancy THAT," I snarled. "My mom's maiden name is ALSO Gabriev. I guess that means just one THING..."

Kari reached up and scratched his temple as he strained and strained to add two and two. His eyes told me that he was wondering whether or not it was safe to speak up or not. I could feel a fire burning in my eyes, my teeth grinding so hard that I thought they would crack or even pop out.

"Uh... life is funny?"

_!_

I let Kari go, turning around and throwing up my hands in defeat.

"Let's see! My mother was named Gabriev until she married, Kari's name is Gabriev, and Lina and Gourry lived where?" I waved my hand to beckon the answer out of Phil. Seeing me, he lowered his solemn gaze and coughed the answer out through his thick whiskers.

"Elmekia."

"THANK YOU," I hollered. My nausea had since been replaced by the mother of all migranes. I suddenly favored the cool, damp, dark atmosphere of the prison as I let myself hit the floor at full speed. I felt my head bounce off the floor, and I smiled maniacally as I felt the dull thud of bone-on-stone.

"Miss Rina!" Emilia yelled through the thoughts flying around in my head. "You have to control yourself! You are completely... What would Lina Inverse think of your behavior?"

_Oh. The old what-would-your-family-think appeal, huh?_

I turned over onto my belly and gave Emilia a serious look. "I couldn't care _less_ about what some dead sorceress that I will never meet thinks of me." I thumbed my nose at Emilia with my right hand, leaning on the propped-up left. "Lina Inverse is just an over-exaggerated legend." I slapped my right hand against the ground and stood up, sullen and tired. "I'm not Lina's descendant." I paused to glance in the opposite direction towards Kari. "And I'm not related to you, Kari."

It was a very fragile moment, I'll admit. Kari looked really hurt, like if someone had just pushed him down, kicked dirt in his face, and poured mud all over him just for a laugh. Then again, it could have been his nosebleed and the fact that his hair was caught in a crack in the wall that made him look that pathetic. Emilia also looked depressed now, and that was saying a lot for someone who was usually upbeat and energetic. Actually, pensive would have been a better word for how Emilia looked. Judas busied himself with twisting a couple of his wiry hairs together, and that was obviously an enthralling activity to engage in. Phil was again sitting in a cross-legged posture, his massive hands on his great knees as he meditated. Emilio puzzled in a corner of his cell. Feliciana scratched her head in confusion.

The truth was that now I didn't feel like I wanted to be related to Lina Inverse. I felt threatened, but not threatened like the kind you would feel if your life was in danger. This was a deeper threat, if that's possible. I felt like my existence was endangered. I felt like I would become another mere presence in the shadow of the legend, the infamy, that was Lina Inverse. I didn't want to be a simple name that would fade into obscurity after the end of my time on this planet.

But I knew it was futile. I could try to substitute my own reality for this one, but it would only be a lie. A hollow, fantastic lie.

_Damn it! I hate feeling helpless..._

I knew at that moment that now I had no choice. I had to go forward and find out the truth. I had to find out if I was truly who Dragomir said I was, because I knew that I could never rest until I finally knew the truth.

_After all, that's pretty much what sorcery is about. The truth, right?_

"Actually, I think I've heard of this Lina and Gaurry or whatever his name was." It was Kari, mispronouncing his own predecessor's name. I watched him, and I wondered to myself if there was some irony in that as he continued.

"It's a pretty old bedtime story that my dad always used to tell us before he died." Stroking his chin, Kari sat down and began to talk. It seemed like he wasn't aware of our presence, and that was perfectly fine. His deepest conversations seemed to be with himself.

_As idiotic as that sounds._

"Lina and Gohrry were a happy couple. Garry was a swordsman from the Gabriev Clan, and Lina was a sorceress he saved from bandits one day. After that, they traveled around the world and saw lots of cool things, and lots of not-so-cool things. A couple of times, Lina almost died. And a couple of times, Guorry almost died. But they saved each other all the time, so they were always together."

Well, it sounded like your typical bedtime story for what seems to be a warrior clan in Elmekia. Kari actually had a capacity for telling these stories, even though he mispronounced Gourry's name a different way each and every time. I found that amusing, and it showed a little. But then I caught myself — _Wait. I'm listening to Kari... and I'm _enthralled_?_

"Without realizing it, Gaorry and Lina fell in love. So they went to see her parents, but they came back to Elmekia and got married and had kids. And they were happy as could be, even if they didn't travel anymore."

Kari seemed to be enjoying himself. It was clear that he liked this story a lot. He _had_ to; Kari is not a person who remembers anything he doesn't like, and sometimes he doesn't even remember the things he _does_ like. This was... unprecedented, to say the least. But then Kari's expression became serious, and I felt a little knot catch in my throat. I tried to swallow, but I knew what came next in the story. Dragomir had already told me, so...

"But then Lina started getting sick. Gourry tried to help her get better, and he tried everything. But Lina only got sicker and sicker, until one day..."

Kari's voice cracked into a manly squeak, and I could see it; he had tears forming in his eyes. It was somewhat ridiculous to see a grown man like Kari cry, especially after witnessing the kind of ass he kicked in a typical fight, but it was somewhat... disheartening, this story. I was barely hanging on to my composure myself. I wasn't sure if it was the stress mounted up plus this sad story, or just the sad story itself. Either way, the dam was on the verge of breaking.

_Okay, Rina. Just hang on a little longer and you'll be fine. No need to cry in front of everyone..._

"She... j-just went away..." Kari whispered. "G-Gourry... H-he was chased by evil sorcerers because they wanted Lina's magic books, or something like that. So he took his kids to Zef... Zef..."

"Zefielia," I aided. That made sense, kind of. Zefielia had an evil reputation towards wrongdoers. They tended to go missing within the country's borders. I shook my head. "You know, you don't have to keep going."

"Y-yeah. That place. Grandpa said I should finish whatever I start, s-so... After that... h-he disappeared. And th-that's it." Kari trailed off, and he sniffed a huge mass of snot back up his nose and wiped his reddened eyes, sniffing quietly.

I let go my held breath. I'd managed not to cry through the story. I absolutely abhor showing weakness to anyone. I had a reputation to uphold! But the sight of Kari so broken up by the ending made me ache inside, and so I sidled over to his cell. I reached up and patted his head. The ending _did_ suck and it did seem very incomplete. I couldn't say how much credence the story actually had, but I could see why it would be an effective bedtime story. I could only conclude that Kari's father was a bastard who enjoyed taking the easy way out by making his kids cry themselves to sleep at night.

"D-don't cry, Kar. You're gonna make me crrrry t-tooo..." My voice was breaking up, and it was a good thing that the next move Kari pulled was hugging me through the bars dividing our cells. I'm a slender girl, and he didn't know his own strength; that was painful enough to make anyone cry.

"Geez," Emilia remarked with a sigh of desperation. "If it weren't weird, I'd say the two of them are definitely lovers." Emilia then sniffed and started to cry as well. Judas sniffed once, but it was probably a stuffy nose. Or that's what he'd _say_ it was...

* * *

I was woken up that night by a double-whammy of hunger and the distinct sound of a creaking door.

From my position on the prison floor, I tactfully cracked an eyelid open to see if I caught anything. Without any flash about it, I detected Judas _outside_ of his cell. Somehow, he had gotten out. My mind immediately flew to the worst possibility.

_Why that cheating scum! He's gonna tuck tail and run, leaving us here to rot!_

Naturally, I would have none of it. So I threw my pewter mug at him and conked him square on the head. It didn't have quite the effect I was hoping for, as the cup merely got punctured on Judas' hair and slipped to the ground with a metallic _shrrrk_. Judas himself only noticed me when the mug clattered to the floor.

... _Judas' hair!_ It occurred to me right then what Judas was doing earlier in the day. While Kari and I were arguing — or rather, when I was having an emotional meltdown — Judas was twisting his hairs into a lockpick or something. To confirm this I eyed the keyhole to Judas' cell door. Sure enough, there, stuck in the lock, was a twisted wire that looked menacingly sharp on its own.

"Pretty crafty there, Jude," I purred from the darkness of the cell as I stood. I caught the faint light reflecting off the back of Judas' reptilian eyes, giving the impression that his irises glowed as he glanced my way.

"You live, you learn," Judas replied coarsely. "Stand back," he commanded. I was about to protest, but then I remembered that it's generally not a good idea to stand in Judas' way. Just before Judas punched the hinges loose, I skipped back a step to avoid the door in the event that it came crashing down. It instead hung precariously on a single bolt, and I swerved my way out from under it just before it fell. Luckily, Judas caught it before it really made some huge racket that brought guards down on us.

The noise of Judas beating away at the door was enough to rouse everyone else in the prison.

"Uuugh. What's the racket?" Emilia gargled. Her brother and mother were in a similar state of disorientation, but Phil was surprisingly calm. He had apparently remained in that meditative position until now, during which he opened his eyes. That loony spark was in them, and he only murmured these words:

"It's time."

Solemnly, Phil stood to his full height and gripped the bars of his cell door. With what looked like little more than him tightening his stomach muscles, the king _jarred_ the door _off_ its frame and gently laid it aside.

"Wh— how— WHY didn't you do that before?" I yelled at him. Phil, stepping out of the cell and stretching his body, shrugged to me as he loomed over Judas. "I had no plan of attack. What was I to do if I escaped? I would only get captured again for sure! But now..." Phil's eyes fired up, and I just gave a nervous chuckle. Anything I would have said would have been drowned out within seconds anyway.

_Oh boy._

"But now, we have all scions of the Just Four gathered here between us! Surely this is a day — or night — of reckoning. Sorin shall rue the day he betrayed my kingdom's trust!" Without further ado, Phil moved on to rip out the doors to the cells containing the rest of the Saillune family, and they all proceeded to engage in a heart-warming group hug once they were all out.

_Aww. What a nice family... even if they are all basketcases._

Judas took the longer but more subtle approach to freeing Kari from his prison cell, using the same twine of twisted hairs that he had used to pick his lock. "Amateurs," he clicked in his throat, leaving his hair in the lock as an insult to the warden whenever he came to check up on us.

With a similar elegance to our breakout, Judas made short work of the pathetic wooden door that stood between us and our gear. Before the dust from that crash even cleared, Judas beelined for his sword and cloak. I took a similar approach, but to my dismay noticed that my satchel was savagely torn to tatters in the pursuit of something that could have been taken by simply opening the _flap_.

Holding it in my hands, I complained irately. "These bastards have no respect for anything."

"Indeed!" cried a youthful voice from behind me. Its owner stepped in through the dust of the doorway, a fist held high in defiance of whatever deity or demon (spare them both) that stood in Emilia's path. "They have given themselves over to evil! They may be our soldiers, but Dragomir has brought out the worst in them! We must kick their butts post-haste!"

I smiled wryly at Emilia. _Now_ she was talking my language. The quicker we could plow through the cannon fodder, the quicker we could get this sad story over with.

As I fitted my mantle with skepticism as to how I appeared, a half-clad Kari passed over and behind me with a deliberate air. I turned to look at him only to catch the back end of a dopey smile.

"Ready now?

Letting out a sigh, I rubbed my wrists. "Ready as I'll ever be." I went from rubbing my wrists to rubbing my head. "I just want the headaches to be over with."

Judas led the way through the corridor from there. Emilia took up his flank, and Kari and I brought up the back. My hand, itchy as it was, hovered over the hilt of my shortsword as I anticipated attacks from every shadow that seemed to move. It wasn't like Dragomir was the only thing to worry about; there were also the Mazoku, that rarely move in on humans unless they're _really_ up to something nasty, and then there were those four creepy guards that seemed to just phase in and out of existence. A lump formed in my throat as I darted my eyes around; I literally had the fear that they would pop out of a wall or alcove any given second. Additionally, here, where offensive magic was useless, I was nothing but a burden. Those guys looked like they knew their way around a blade, and I suspected that only Kari and Judas among us would stand a chance in a melee.

_Not that I'm so shabby, but..._

"Damn it," I cursed. "If only I could use my more powerful magic..."

"Well," Emilio called out from the back, "there is a way, though it's risky."

_Princey, everything has some level of risk. At this point, I'd risk anything short of screaming and running naked through a dragon's cave._

"Just tell me what I have to do," I sighed.

Emilio explained to me the finer points of the city's Rune Breaker layout. I listened intently as he explained three possible ways to break the warding field. The first was to cast a spell powerful enough to break the warding field, easier said than done in my condition. The second was to destroy one of the six pillars that constituted the hexagram forming the Rune Breaker. The last was to blow up one of the segments between either of the six points, that being one of the palace ground's walls. Unfortunately, the easiest way just so happened to be the most compromising one — AKA, the loudest one. I glanced nervously to my party, and I noticed that they were trading the same sentiment with me.

"... What? I haven't destroyed _that_ much of anything!"

"That we've _seen_," Judas argued.

"But the stories of your excessive reckless sorcery have spread across the entire continent!" Emilia added.

"You also snore a lot," Kari included for the low blow.

_What the—_?_ I do NOT snore!_

"Gah!" I yelled. "Am I surrounded by morons? Can't you tell that all that crap you hear about me is baseless slander?"

"'Slander'?" Kari echoed. It seemed to resound in his head, and I could feel a stupid question coming on. He turned to Judas with that cross-eyed look on his face. "Is that a kind of fish?"

"Yes, Kari, it's a fish," Judas agreed, evidently not wanting to explain the whole thing to him. Delighted with himself, Kari slammed a fist into his palm and beamed a fool's grin the rest of the way. Emilia occupied herself with observing her family. But the real reason behind her look of concern was revealed as soon as we got to the infamous giant-steel-door-of-doom.

"See, this is what I was wondering about," she sighed. "Daddy can't possibly knock down this door." Phil patted Emilia on the head as a silent reply. It looked akin to a gorilla petting a kitten.

"He doesn't need to," Judas answered slyly. He produced a small skeleton key from his pocket and went ahead to unlock the door.

"Ah!" Emilia exclaimed. "How did you get your hands on _that_, Mr. Judas?"

"When we had our equipment stashed the night before, I overheard one of the guards talking about losing his key. Another guard directed him to the 'spare' key under one of the barrels in the storage." Judas tapped his stony forehead, smirking over himself. "In addition to my memory, this curse has granted me a few benefits in the way of inhuman sight and hearing."

"Oh," Emilia mused cheerfully. "That's very impressive, Mr. Judas!"

_No kidding, Emmy,_ thought I. I was just blown _sideways_ by the amount of planning that Judas had going on here. That must be why he didn't complain much about the situation we were in; he just looked for an opportunity and found it. Not a guard to be encountered and he even had the key to the big annoying door! What'll he think of next?

"That's the extent of my planning," Judas remarked coolly. "We're improvising from here."

_... Great. First rule of jinxes, kids._ I had to wonder to myself if Lina Inverse, my alleged ancestor, ever had to endure this kind of crap, and if so, I wondered if she actually came out of it sane.


	13. Chapter XII: The Downhill Drop

The plan was simple in theory. We knock off the warding field, I fling around some spells, we kick major ass.

_Simple. Yeah. Simple._

Not quite as simple as I had hoped.

Sneaking through the palace grounds was proving to be a unique challenge. For one, there was now a source of ambient light. A thin sliver of a crescent moon hung low in the air, freshly risen from the dark horizon beyond the walls of the city. Its pale sickle-shaped face gave off what seemed to be an unnaturally bright light that turned the pitch black night into what I would have considered a beautiful midnight blue.

It didn't help my circumstances that the Saillune family particularly fancied white clothing that nearly sparkled in even the dimmest lights. Luckily, Phil III knew of a secret passageway that led from the southern outer turret to the central palace. The plan was to send the Saillune family back into the palace through that. From what I could judge, they could wreak enough havoc on their own. I wasn't sure about Feliciana... but I had the same impression about Emilia at first, so, in retrospect, I refrained from judging and agreed to split off the group at that point.

Ducking in a row of neatly trimmed hedges, Judas eyed the door leading inside the turret with the keeness of a hawk hungrily stalking a mouse on the forest floor. Minding his movements, he turned to Emilia and me, who kneeled behind him near the hedge.

With only his eyes, he gestured towards the couple of guards that stood on either side of the small turret door. I threw a parting glance towards Emilia and shot off to the right. She went in the opposite direction.

"... HEY!" The guard on the right of the door shouted and rattled his spear as he began to run forward. The one on the left, more reactionary than proactive, followed the first guard's lead without hesitation.

_He's moving a little sluggish,_ I hummed quietly in my mind. My chanting wound up to a crescendo, and at the same time as Emilia, I pointed at one guard. Again, at the same time as Emilia, I called the Power Words for one useful but unsealed spell.

"Sleeping!"

The air glittered with white pixie dust around the guard that Emilia and I focused on. As it spread, it caught the first guard and affected him as well. They both slowed to a stumble, and more or less they collapsed like de-stuffed scarecrows where they stood. Without waiting for a signal, Judas slithered out from the hedge and grabbed either wrist of an arm to each guard. He dragged them into the shadows and made sure they stayed there.

Kari emerged from those same hedges, yawning as he paused in the middle of the clearing.

It was a tense moment. I wanted to yell at him for being absent enough to _stand_ out in the open.

Thankfully, he didn't stand there long. With a small nod of self-satisfaction, Kari opened the door leading into the turret and beckoned us in.

Judas and Emilia waited at the door until Emilio, Felicia, and Phil III ran into the turret. After Judas stepped in at last, he closed the door as quietly as he could.

"Mighty fine display of teamwork, I must say!" Phil commended us with a quiet clap.

"Yeah, yeah," I interjected. "How are we gonna get you into the palace now?"

The bottom floor of the turret was circular, drafty, and only decent as a holding cell. The decor sucked and the place smelt of sweaty men. I made sure to express my approval to Phil, who moved over to a pile of hay and began removing hunks of the horse feed. I sneezed with all the dust, and somewhere in my fit I was assured that I wasn't the only one with allergies.

Phil made what could pass as a massive bird's nest in the hay, but there was something more to it than that. Reaching down and gripping a large, rusty ring on the floor, a yank revealed a narrow set of steep stairs leading down into an unseen darkness.

"Lighting!" Emilio conjured up the spell and willed it to the entrance. With a nod, Phil beckoned his family with two meaty fingers.

"We can take the Icon of Saillune from within."

I tilted my head. I thought we didn't know where that was... "Excuse me, Phil, but how are you gonna do that? Do you even know where it is?"

"Hah!" Phil grinned as if I had just asked the most obvious question in the world.

"It's probably in the treasure vault," Emilio offered. My ears perked at that.

"Treasure vault?" I asked with _innocent_ curiosity. But I didn't get an answer before Kari gripped the collar of my mantle.

"Aaack! Can't breathe, Kari!" When Kari put me down, I offered another observation. "But, Dragomir wouldn't make a mistake that obvious, would he?"

Judas spoke up from where he stood, formerly looking out of an archer's slot with a view of the street outside. "Dragomir has already made a lot of mistakes. First of all, there were no guards outside of the large steel door of the prison. Secondly, the guards on the palace grounds seem to be fewer than the night when we were brought in. I can't shake the feeling that we're being led along..."

Judas was right to some degree, but if we had a chance to get to the bottom of this, were we gonna ignore it? Okay, so I wasn't exactly in a position to do much. But Judas got the ball rolling and we couldn't stop it now!

The Saillune family, including Emilia, filed into the narrow passageway. Emilio led the way with his lighting spell, Emilia followed right after, Felicia went in third, and Phil brought up the back. His eyes and grin disturbingly being the last thing to melt into the darkness of the trapdoor, it finally clanked with a dull noise and rattled only once as what sounded like Phil's head banged against it.

"Right," I muttered. "Anyway, how do we go about blowing this ice cream stand?"

"Simple," Judas remarked flatly. Dully, he pointed out the wooden shutters on the wall the opposite of the door that we came in through.

"Get out, destroy the wall. Simple." Judas seemed to have complete confidence in me, and I had no qualms with that, but had he already forgotten what happened the night that we were arrested? Blast Wave, which is pretty much made for blowing big holes in big walls, fizzled and popped without so much as a rumble. But from the maniacal gleam in Judas' visible eye, I could see that he wanted me to cause some serious damage. Slowly, my little mouth puckered into a little smirk, and I had a doozy of a plan in mind. Kari furrowed his brow, but Judas seemed to nod his approval.

"... Just keep your heads down," I commented to Judas and Kari as I vaulted out the shutter after opening it.

The streets of the city were just as barren as the night that we were hauled in. I took a short trot away from the turret and entered an alleyway. Looking up, I made quick work of a chant and felt my body become light.

"Levitation."

I lifted off the ground and ascended the three stories of the building at the pace of a brisk walk. I slowed as I neared the buildings' top, and I killed the spell altogether once I could get a good handhold on the edge of the roof. I clambered onto it and observed my options.

_So I just have to destroy any section of the wall..._

The walls were arranged in an open hexagram, as in the pattern of a hexagram, but the walls were not interlacing. The entire inside of the walled palace grounds was open and unhindered by dividing walls. Seeing as how the tallest building I could find was probably the most expensive one in the district, I secretly felt sorry for its proprietor as I chanted a spell to bring the house down.

I smiled sweetly and, from a distance, drew a circle around the space below the large building with a forefinger.

"Mega Brand."

BOOM. The blast was loud and a wall of displaced debris filled the air. The part of the building that wasn't decimated in the immediate blast teetered precariously on its foundation. It stopped teetering, though, and that hacked me off. The shouting of the guards was already running through the streets below me. I rolled my eyes, flustered at the need to cast another spell to finish the job.

Calculating the arc of my swing, I chanted quickly but surely. Before a half-minute could elapse, I had a splendid fireball in my right hand.

"Fireball!" I released the ball of light out at an angle to my right. But I 'pulled' on it in a way so that it curved sharply and _zoomed_ right into the back end of the building.

BOOM! The explosion from the fireball was not nearly as impressive as the Mega Brand's at this distance, nor was the noise as loud, but it was much brighter, and it did its job. The building finally had it with the abuse, and it took it all falling down.

CRASH!

A wave of dust undulated through the night air and obscured the light from the street lamps below. I brought up my mantle to shield my eyes from the dust. Once most of it settled, I smiled at my discovery.

As the cloud of black, white, and brown debris cleared away from the smoldering pile of wood and stone, the wall laid prostrate before yours truly, a white flag practically clutched in its limp, dead grip.

* * *

"That was discreet."

Judas could never be satisfied with my work. After returning to the turret as fast as I could following the scene I caused at the 3rd District, Judas, Kari and I opted to follow the path that the Royal Family took back into the palace. As we walked through the claustrophobic corridor, I closed my eyes absently to relish the thrum of the sorcery that ran through my veins once again.

"Beggars can't be choosers, Jude. 'Sides, now we can just blow them _all_ up."

"I don't want to 'blow them all up.' I just want to get rid of Dragomir so that I can get back to searching for the cure to my curse."

I glanced back to Kari, wondering to myself if I should pursue the subject. As if he could tell what was on my mind, Kari gave me a shrug as if to say, 'whatever you want, Rina.'

I sighed. Maybe I could tolerate Judas' bitterness if I knew his position a little better.

"This is a long walk," I started awkwardly. "Erm, so... How exactly did you get... you know... _like_ this? I know you said something about Zelgadiss and your family history, but... refresh me?"

Judas seemed to trip on a slightly dislodged floor stone the second I asked the question. He threw a venomous glare my way without fully expressing his entire face. "And why should I tell you?" he creatively inquired.

"It was just a question," I muttered. "I figured that I might be able to better sympathize with you if I knew the circumstances surrounding your... dilemma. Or at least make your sour mood more tolerable."

Hey, let it not be said that I wasn't an honest person.

Keeping his pace steady, Judas paused his breaths for a minute.

"Fine," he grunted. "Pay attention, because I'm not repeating myself."

_Fair enough,_ I thought.

"Before I was as I am today, I was simply the oldest son of the Graywords family in Kalmaart. My family was fairly well to do, so I had pretty much every need attended to. But then, about four years ago, I began to... change.

"It started with severe, sporadic pains on the inside of my body. I was in agony for days and nights on end, weeks at a time sometimes. The local temple called it a 'possession' at first. The temple sent a couple of priests to 'cleanse' the demons, but they only ran off without an explanation when their exorcisms failed.

"Next, countless doctors were called from around the continent to try and help my condition. This was horrendously expensive, though, and when the doctors failed to produce results, again they just ran off with our money.

"The pains suddenly stopped after one particularly horrific day. I foolishly thought that my condition had bettered, but it wasn't a week before I started noticing rough spots on my skin. They were like scales at first, but they kept growing and getting darker. I was thought to have contracted some exotic skin disease, and I was kept confined within my quarters for the remainder of my days in my house.

"There, in the darkness of my chambers, was where my final, terrible metamorphosis took place," he shuddered. "My skin grew excessively tough, and my eyes and my ears painfully extended into the shape that you see them now. How much pain? Try taking the tip of a sword and running it around your iris without ever applying enough pressure to break the tissue and you have a fair equivalent. Try puncturing the cartilage of your ears with a rusty nail every minute of every hour. Try doing all that steady for _days_.

"Under debt, misery, and the fragile sanity of my father, my house crumbled," Judas stated with detachment. "For all intents and purposes, I am the last member of the Graywords family. We're all scattered or lost now."

I remained quiet. I used the silence as a moment to temper the words that Judas had allowed me to hear, and I made sure to remember them. Chimeras weren't my field of expertise, but perhaps I could find someone who was at the Sorcerer's Guild, I thought.

"Gee. That's really tough," Kari quietly murmured from the back. I bit back a curse and held back a punch, as I was almost certain that Judas would _not_ respond well to that.

Everyone has their surprises.

"Yes," Judas concurred. "But I don't much care about the state of my family name. I just want my humanity back."

"So... it just happened?" I gawked. "How is that possible?"

"Hell if I know." Judas glanced back tentatively before adding more details. "The ancestor that was mentioned earlier, Zelgadiss..." Judas glanced down at his open hand. "He cured his chimeracism. But," he murmured, clenching his hand into a fist. "But, he left infuriatingly few details as to how he did it."

Judas paused, looking ahead to an end in the tunnel. I could feel the space widening as well.

"It's almost as if Zelgadiss wanted no one to know how he managed to cure his condition. All I know is that he knew and traveled with St. Amelia and the two that you and Karius are supposedly descended from. Besides what I've learned during my time here in Saillune, that is my only, solitary clue."

Those were the last words that Judas spoke before his lighting spell illuminated a narrow stairwell leading up. Without stopping, Judas began to ascend the stairs. Solemnly and alertly, Kari and I followed.

* * *

The exit of the passageway extended near-endlessly into an open, airy room. It was dark, too dark to see anything but the pale moon hanging framed in the large window behind us. I felt my boots fall on a soft surface, and I looked down amidst Judas' dim lighting spell to notice a soft blue carpet leading straight to a tiered throne.

"We must be in the center of the palace," I muttered softly. But quiet as I tried to stay, the room seemed to like to echo every single sound and word we made. As far as I could tell at that point, we were the only ones in the throne room. Everything looked locked and preserved, and the very dust that was in the air seemed to be frozen in place. The room felt unnaturally cold, and I looked back to Kari to see if there was any sign of unrest in his actions. That was usually a good indication of danger that I couldn't sense.

But it didn't matter in a second. The room filled with an overwhelming power, and the sick feeling that I'd had in my stomach earlier in the day came back with a vengeance. I heard Kari's sword jump out of its scabbard, and I saw Judas draw his blade as well as he looked beyond my person. Fighting back the urge to double over or vomit, I swirled in place to face down our ultimate enemy.

"Dragomir," I hissed.

"Ah," the priest hummed with all the amusement expected of a ruthless dictator. He was dressed the same as when I met him earlier in the day, still carrying that crozier that he seemed to love so much. "I had no idea that I would run into you here."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first idea you lacked, Dragomir." I couldn't resist the urge to trade one-liners with the obvious main villain. I didn't care if he wanted to defeat the Demon King of the North; if he was going to first subjugate everything under the sun in order to make that dream come true, I wasn't going to allow it. I like having a choice in my destiny, ya see, and giving someone else charge of it is _unacceptable_ for me.

"Forget it, Rina," Judas muttered as he readied his sword. "We're going to have to fight him sooner or later. Let's get this over with _now_." Judas began chanting after completing his sentence.

Not one to argue with Judas' plans, I drew my shortsword with a flick of my wrist and lunged forward at Dragomir.

"Én garde!" I cried. I figured the whole time that Dragomir was a total wimp in close-quarters combat. I know I don't look it, but I am quite the excellent swordfighter. Though most of my combat prowess comes from blasting the hell out of everything before it comes within stabbing distance, I could be quick and dangerous in close quarters. It seemed like attacking Dragomir with physical blows was the most logical and straightforward strategy to take. Being a powerful priest, he would no doubt have had some powerful defensive spells at his disposal.

I closed the distance between Dragomir and me very quickly, and I crouched low with my shortsword ready for a full-speed stab to the gut. Dragomir wasn't moving at all, though, and my instincts flashed red at the instant before I planned to bury all of a one foot steel blade into the crazy priest's abdomen.

"RINA!" Kari's voice pierced through my concentration, and I lurched out of the way of a silvery blur just as my shortsword exploded into a hundred metal pieces that scattered like so much shattered glass across the uncarpeted portions of the floor.

"No way!" I hit the floor hard on my left flank, tightly gripping the hilt that contained the jagged remains of my sword's blade. At that point, I didn't know what to be more afraid of — the punishment awaiting me at home for getting a family heirloom destroyed, or what seemed like impending doom in the form of a priest that was far more capable than I had hoped?

_Damn! Damndamndamndamndamndamndamn—!_

"Me oh my. That was a very unwise decision, Miss Erris," Dragomir mused from where he stood. He began to approach me at a walk before I had even gotten up, but he took his time. Good thing for me, as I was already halfway into a chant by the time I was on my feet. With a subtle motion, I put the hilt of my broken sword into my tattered bag.

_He has eyes,_ I growled in my head, _and no shield trick of his can protect him from this._

"Lighting!" I yelled, directing the spell at his eyes. Like blinding sudden daylight, the whole throne room illuminated under my spell, but they were Dragomir's eyes that took the brunt of the flash of light. He stumbled back, and I made an expression of confidence as I marked my temporary retreat.

Judas took his opening as he finished his spell. Thrusting a hand out, Judas enunciated a pair of condemning Power Words.

"Bram Blazer!"

A wave of blue light ripped through the dark air and broadsided Dragomir's stunned form. For the first time, I heard Dragomir shout in pain as his body twitched back a few steps. He remained standing, though, and that was a pretty impressive feat for taking a full on Bram Blazer. Most people would have been in dire need of healing after an attack like that since it attacks the mind directly.

Kari took his cue and charged the stunned Dragomir. I grinned smugly, knowing that Kari was easily the superior of any swordsman I'd seen, much more the fighting superior of any pansy priest. Oh sure, he could handle me in one swipe, but that was just because I'm a sorceress by trade, not a fighter. Kari's style was much more honed and powerful. Dragomir couldn't possibly hold up against him for long.

_Right?_

Still blinded from the appearance of his closed eyes, Dragomir lifted his crozier to parry Kari's incoming vertical strike. Kari seemed a little disdained by it at first but not too bothered. As he withdrew, Kari whirled around with another strike, this time a low backhand willow aimed at Dragomir's shins. The priest lowered his staff to catch Kari's blade on the downswing, yet again frustrating Kari's attack. I was dismayed myself when after a backstep and a flourish, I noticed Dragomir's eyes open and lucid once again.

"Impressive swordsmanship, for a bottomfeeder mercenary."

"Yeah, I know." Kari otherwise remained silent, his face now strangely stern as he angled the tip of his sword to pan out at eye level. Dragomir took the time to give me a knowing smile before glancing also to Judas, who finished a spell just as Dragomir addressed him.

"Judas... Why don't you join the fun? Your Bram Blazer threw me off balance back there; perhaps you can do more than that this time?"

Judas, looking none too amused, tapped the blade of his broadsword with two fingers.

"Astral Vine."

The blade of Judas' sword hummed deeply and began to emit a deep red glow. It was clear to sorcerers like me that Judas had enchanted his blade to do some impressive astral-side damage as well as physical damage. Without missing a step, Judas cleared that distance between himself and Dragomir with both inhuman speed and a furious war cry. When Judas and Dragomir collided, the air shuddered and the cloaks of both men were blasted about.

Judas' hood flew back off his face, and his mask lowered itself to reveal half of his melancholy expression. Dragomir seemed to grin as the dim light reflected off of Judas' hair and danced on his face, and I didn't like the look of his smirk one bit. Repelling Judas with a single push of his crozier, Dragomir seemed to make a blessing with his left hand.

"Judas, let _me_ help you find the light in your life... the _cure_ to your curse."

Judas seemed stunned by Dragomir's offer, but the controlled burn of his anger returned to his eyes without another breath. Dragomir paused a minute and began to square off with Judas once more. Kari closed in on the priest as well, slightly out of striking distance, and there they stood. Squaring off. Marking their territory. True men in every respect of the term.

_... Good grief. Stab him already, guys!_

I was busy going through my spell repertoire. It's not that I had a _lack_ of spells, mind you, but I had a lack of spells that I thought would be both effective on Dragomir _and_ not leave the Saillune Royal Palace a smoldering crater and historical battleground. If Dragomir could take a spell like Bram Blazer and shrug it off like it was nothing, then there was a serious problem with our strategy. It meant that taking Dragomir down with magic was going to be a task easier said than done, and, unfortunately, it was starting to look like beating him to death wasn't a viable option, either.

I mulled over my choices as Kari and Judas continued the offensive, this time as a double-team effort. As Judas went low and tried to exploit his unnatural agility, Kari went high to take advantage of his height and strength. Dragomir's stupid smile was gone, replaced by one of concentration. That was a good sign to me; it meant that he was being tested now, and he didn't have the time or freedom to make taunts or overpious offers. I watched carefully to see if I could get a cheap shot in on Dragomir while Judas and Kari were keeping him distracted. Watching Dragomir, a priest, fend off two fighters was not only ridiculous — it was _frustrating_. It was finally when Kari got in a graze to Dragomir's face that I let loose with the spell on the tip of my tongue.

"Flare Arrow!"

With my talent, I could release twenty — count 'em, _twenty_ — flaming arrows of doom. I felt to myself that either that was the decisive blow waiting to happen, or Dragomir was going to pull some trick out of his ass that will keep him from getting baked. From the epicenter of my phalanx I watched until, with a shout, Dragomir sent the arrows flying in every direction _but him_. That caused Judas and Kari to dive for the dirt or risk getting hit, and I gulped as I watched the collateral damage ensue from my spell _in the king's throne room._

_Well, there go the profits._

In my dismay, I didn't notice Dragomir conjuring a powerful Mos Varim spell that sucked all the flames in his vicinity into a ball of light brought into existence by the incantation.

"You almost caught me there, Miss Erris." Gone was his serene tone. Dragomir's voice was as imposing as ever, but now it was underscored with tremors of anger.

"Why do you continue to oppose me, sorceress? Do you not want to see the Demon King of the North destroyed?"

"What?" Judas shouted inarticulately. "Rina!" he called to me. "He can't be serious!"

I shook my head to Judas with a he-ain't-kidding expression on my face. "Oh yeah," I mouthed to Jude. I then followed it up with the universal sign for 'he's lost it,' which, if I recall, is an extended forefinger tracing a circular path around the side of one's head. Kari crossed his eyes momentarily as he realigned himself for another go at Dragomir. He seemed to be a no-nonsense person in combat mode, and that was both unsettling and reassuring. Don't ask me how that is, it just turned out that way.

"Dragomir," I started with an angry tone. "Your plan is seriously flawed. Haven't you heard of what happened to King Dils II when _he_ tried to defeat the Demon King of the North?"

"... Ah yes," Dragomir murmured. "The fellow who had the Rugnaut Rusyavuna curse placed on him."

I was livid with his calm ignorance. "So you _have_ heard? And you still want to go through with this?"

"Sorceress... Miss Erris. It is not a matter of if I _want_ to go through with this. It's a matter of _going_ through with it." Dragomir closed his eyes, and with his left hand as a fist placed over his heart, he continued. "It is my purpose for living, for _existing_. _This_ is God's duty — my duty."

"... Then you are already lost! Hyaaah!" With another war cry, Judas threw himself back into battle with Dragomir. Kari found an opening and tried to go for it, but Dragomir's staff again foiled him as it whirled, spun, arched and crossed over every vulnerable part of his form at just the right time.

I decided then that I didn't have a choice. I was going to have to chance the most powerful Black Magic spell known to modern sorcery — the Dragon Slave. On its own, the Dragon Slave is a famous spell, mainly because of how dangerous and destructive it is, and also because it draws upon the power of the very being that Dragomir wanted to make war against — Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu. One Dragon Slave is enough to kill a black dragon, and its power does not simply stop there. Its original creator, the sage Rei Magnus, used it to kill an Arc Dragon that was almost as old as the modern world. Even now, the spell is still not easy to cast. Some aren't even aware that humans are capable of wielding such destructive force on their own. Perhaps that lends some credence to Lina Inverse's legend, as the Dragon Slave was one of her perennial favorite spells according to Guild lore.

I wasn't sure how a spell like the Dragon Slave would react on a person like Dragomir, but it was a risk I had to take. If I had to do everything within my means to end this fiasco, then end it I would. Quietly, I began to chant the Chaos Words and weave my hands to the appropriate gestures.

_Thou who art darker than twilight, Thou who art redder than flowing blood; Buried One through whom time flows..._

The spell was working normally; I could feel the energy of its source running parallel to my own as the crimson glow shimmered around my extended hands. It seemed unhindered by the fact that we were all still inside a giant Rune Breaker (which had some sway even though its innermost circle was destroyed by yours truly).

_ I call upon thy exalted name, I pledge myself to darkness..._

During my chant, I heard the surprised yells of Kari and Judas as they were thrown back by a blast of force that Dragomir released. But I heard no chant from him, so it startled me somewhat. I met Dragomir's gaze, and his ears must have caught the words of my chant. He smirked and extended his left hand to me as if I needed help getting up from the floor.

"... Hahaha. You _dare_ to invoke the spell of Ruby-Eye on _me_? You truly have no idea—"

I phased Dragomir's taunts out of my head.

_Let us stand together, And let the fools who would destroy us feel the force of our true power..._

Dragomir's smile disintegrated, and a sole word escaped his mouth before the end of my chant.

_"Insolence."_

I thrust my hands out at my intended victim and gave him a knowing smile, secretly hoping that my aim was true and not off by even the slightest bit. Judas took note, and he grabbed Kari by the collar as they dove for cover in the second before the place lit up at my call.

_"Dragon Slave!"_

I screamed those infamous Power Words at the top of my lungs, hoping that that would add some punch to the attack in case for some reason it wasn't enough. The tell-tale red beam of light traveled across the room to Dragomir's position, and a blast of force whipped my hair and mantle around as the spell tore a path of destruction towards Dragomir's still form.

What happened next was definitely _not_ what I had intended.

Rather than a satisfying explosion and a few particles of squishy matter remaining where Dragomir once stood, the spell... well... I... It split in half. Dragomir CUT it in half with his STUPID CROZIER. Divided into two thin lights of crimson energy, one of the red beams crashed through a stained-glass window high on the wall behind Dragomir, and the other red beam tore through a window adjacent to the first one. The explosions, much less potent than if they had still been together, illuminated the night sky outside with bright red light. My heart skipped more beats than ought to be healthy, and all the words I tried to speak after that simply became hooked in the dry, torn flesh of my throat.

_I... I can't believe that just happened. Am I screwed?_

I took a few steps back as Dragomir started to advance.

_My Dragon Slave failed... H-how can I follow that up?_

I started a chant that I hoped I could finish in time — this time, I had planned to hit him with a powerful fire spell. Dragomir continued to approach me steadily, but with haste I finished my chant. I extended my hands and shouted the Power Words.

"Val Fla—ARG!"

All the wind suddenly rushed out of me. Unfortunately, one-and-a-half out of two Power Words isn't good enough in spellcasting, and I lost the Val Flare that I had managed to chant. That spell is like a Mega Flare Arrow. There is only one Flare Arrow as opposed to the archetype it's built on, but that single bolt of fire outclasses the kaboom power in even Flare Lance by spades. In minimal lapse of concentrating my attention on him, Dragomir had closed the distance between us and buried the lower end of his crozier into my midsection.

I was doubled over with a wheeze as I felt another blow land between my shoulders. Hitting the floor, I tried not to scream; it came out as a very loud groan instead. In my pain I barely noticed the tinkling sounds of my shoulder guards falling into pieces under the force of Dragomir's attack. In some ways, bludgeoning blows are worse than slashing attacks. The danger from a blow from a weapon like Dragomir's staff was mainly heavy bruising and broken bones. I didn't know if I could maintain consciousness with another hit like the previous two.

_Get me out of here,_ I tried to call out to my companions, but a quick glance showed me that both Kari and Judas were badly worn out from the exchange with Dragomir. Kari was using his greatsword to lean on and Judas seemed to be chanting a spell under his breath. Both of them were respirating with difficulty.

_That's no good! Dragomir isn't even out of breath, and he must be _twice_ your ages!_

"Hang on, Rina!" Kari shouted. But Dragomir would have nothing of it. The end of Dragomir's crozier dug harshly into the stone in front of my face. I took that as a threat to stop moving.

"You tried to defeat me with Ruby-Eye's power," he spoke with a voice that almost seemed to relish the moment. "But..." Dragomir tapered off, his voice wavering at the end. I knew then that he could sense something; Kari and Judas seemed to be distracted as well. I heard the swishing of Dragomir's robes as he frantically turned his body about. Finally, Dragomir broke the silence with an uncharacteristically impassioned shout.

"WHAT?" Sorin's tone changed immediately, and he spun around to parry a very loud blow from the dark air behind him.

WHAM!

I lifted my head to try and see who it was. While I was expecting Emilia, Phil, or even Emilio, the one who came from nowhere to confront Dragomir was none of the above. Fighting the pain my body pulsed with, I threw myself away from the battle zone, rolling into a crouch. Warily, I took note of the newcomer.

The man locking staves with Dragomir looked like another priest, except he was completely clad in black traveler's robes. His mantle was the same black color with an ethnic embroidery along the edges. His hair was more or less the same color as mine — a dark purple — and he had it trimmed neatly around his chin. Framed inside the clean-cut edges of his hair was a youthful, pleasantly demeanored face. His weapon of choice was a hoary wooden staff with a large red crystal ball set in between the fork of the stave. All in all, he looked pretty average, but he was displaying some very _unaverage_ fighting skill as I watched the exchange for a few seconds. The short fight seemed to last forever; the combat was happening so fast that I couldn't keep up with the amount of blows that the two men exchanged. When the two priests finally split off from one another, it became more a contest of wills than a show of power.

"Well, well!" the newcomer trilled as he assumed a relaxed stance. "We meet again, Sorin Dragomir!"

"You..." Dragomir looked inquisitive, then bemused. "You're that priest that told me to come to Saillune."

"Hmm... could be?" the other priest answered with a shrug. He then turned his gaze on me, which was less than settling. He looked to be one of Dragomir's kind, from the Holy Order of Smile-All-the-Damn-Time priests.

"Wh-who are you?" I managed through a bloody cough. I wiped my mouth in self-disgust as I stood to my feet, taking a rough breath.

"Mmm. An old friend, you could say," the nameless priest stated as matter-of-factly as you could imagine. Still smiling, he gestured towards one of the doors that led into the halls of the palace. "You flee. I will hold Dragomir off _here_." The new priest returned his eyes to Dragomir, tightening his grip on his staff as his lips slowly revealed a grin.

I was a bit boggled by this strange priest's random assistance, but who was I to argue? My best tricks failed in the most spectacularly stupid ways and I had no room for redemption. I regrouped with Kari and Judas before anything hindering could happen. The latter was still chanting, but when I listened in on a couple of the Chaos Words Judas was uttering, I had to shake my head clear. But before I could ask, Judas unleashed the Power Words with a roar of his voice and a thrust of his arm.

"Ra Tilt!"

Dragomir jerked his head towards us as a bluish-white pillar of flames sprang up and consumed his body at the behest of Judas' spell. Dragomir didn't so much as scream in the blaze of cyan light. In the glow of the spell, I could make out a wearied smirk of accomplishment on Judas' face. I frowned, skeptical. It reminded me a little too much of my own gleeful expression once I had unleashed the Dragon Slave on Dragomir, which was pretty much what Ra Tilt was to Spirit Shamanism.

When the astral flames spiralled away into the dark air of the smoky atmosphere, it was Judas' turn to savor the bitter medicine of unpleasant reality. Though it looked like it actually did some damage to Dragomir this time, he was _still alive_. Judas recoiled as did I, because this time Dragomir _took_ the hit. Since the Ra Tilt attacks from the astral side and does devastating mental damage that can easily destroy a Mazoku in one hit, it would seem that casting the spell on a human target would be overkill.

_But more and more it seems that Dragomir isn't _human_ at all._

Without so much as a breather, slowly pointing his crozier at the three of us, Dragomir droned resolutely.

"Now you see how futile your magic is."

The new priest watched the display with mild interest. Yawning, he waved his hand towards us dismissively. "What? You don't think I could hold him off on my own?" The priest grinned again as he turned a glance on Dragomir, who was looking very near infuriation by this point. A moment of silence in the sounds of smoldering tapestries passed before Dragomir called out to the purple-haired priest.

"As for you, mysterious priest... I will deal with you first."

CLANG. In the blink of an eye, the new priest threw himself at Dragomir, effortlessly parrying the latter's charge.

"Then deal with me!" the odd priest almost seemed to plead in a chirrupy voice.

_What the hell is up with the clergy nowaday?_

With a snarl, Judas got up. He barked a command to Kari and me, stunned until that point. That command was simple:

"Run!"

_If a brooding chimera badass tells you to run, what do you do?_

Out of options, we turned tail and took off like our lives depended on it down the hall beyond the closest door to us. As Judas, Kari and I ran away from the main hall, the sounds of battle flared up and roared on until we were out of earshot.


	14. Chapter XIII: The Mysterious Priest

Though the fighting seemed so far away in my mind then, my heart was still racing as Kari and I tried to keep up with Judas and his inhuman stamina. Without attempting to argue thanks to our breathlessness, or mine better said, Kari and I followed Judas through randomly chosen hallways of pristine marble floors accented with baroque wall reliefs and soaring buttresses that held up the better part of the building's weight while giving the corridors an airy, vast feel. If it weren't so dark and gloomy, and I hadn't had the feeling of impending doom at every shadow that _seemed_ to move, I would have considered the settings almost romantic.

Judas jerked his head around and dug a heel in, stopping abruptly. My heart jumped, thinking that he had caught wind of a pursuer. Though my senses are sharp, I had a feeling that Judas' were sharper still. This wouldn't have been the first time he felt something where I didn't.

When he thrust his hands out at an upward angle, that was my signal to drop and let the smooth stone floor carry my body past Judas in a slide. Kari did the same with a crash thanks to his armor.

"Dam Brass!" Judas shouted. Looking back, I saw the trail of red light leaving his joined hands in the direction whence we came. But instead of hitting some monstrosity born of the pit like I had imagined, the beam ended at the center of one of the hall's arches. Said arch proceeded to explode outward from where the spell had struck as if some powerful bubble of force had been blown inside the stone. A few pebbles fell from the spherical impression, and then the whole ceiling, or just about, came down and blocked the hall off.

"What the—?" The noise flushed out whatever expletive I'd inserted at the end. I was so startled that I didn't even remember.

"No time; let's keep moving," Judas interrupted me with his grim, hastened tone. With a shrug, Kari gripped my unprotected hand and dragged me to my feet. If this were any other day under any other situation, I would have hit them both with a Burst Rondo for hauling me around like dead weight. But I knew that it wasn't like any other day.

A few more ornate halls later, Judas deemed it safe enough to slow down to a quick walk. Grateful for the change in pace but still irritated, I strode up to Judas' side and almost punched his shoulder, rethinking it when I remembered that it would hurt me more than it would him.

"People say I wreck a lot of buildings, but at least I don't do it _on purpose_. What was _that_ about?" I spurted between coughs towards our gray-skinned friend. With his style of looking particularly unimpressed all the time, Judas glanced casually in my general direction before speaking with a bladed tone.

"I'm blocking off their route," he growled resolutely. "Even if it doesn't stop them, it will at least slow them down."

"Fine," I muttered after a moment, "but you've probably trapped us now."

"That may be so..."

"But I think it's better than being dead, don't you?" Kari inserted a bit of his chipper, simpleton logic.

_Of course it's better than being dead, you simple... simpering... SIMPLETON._

"We have to meet back up with King Phil and the others," I stated with the full knowledge that it was an obvious fact. "But where should we go? For all we know, the place is crawling with unfriendlies by now." Though I didn't sense any immediate danger, I figured by this point that the alarm had been sounded and there were patrols being dispatched as we speak. Of course, with the state of chaos that we'd created, it would make them have to work to get to us.

But, that didn't help my unease. Though it was natural to be nervous in a situation like this, what I was experiencing was more like the nausea that I felt whenever Dragomir was in the vicinity. What _was_ causing it? Some sickening, gaunt feeling in the depths of my gut told me that I would discover it before I was ready.

When the three of us went quiet in favor of silent contemplation, someone's stomach let out a loud growl.

"... What?" I spoke up with a jocular voice, "The stale bread wasn't good enough for you?"

Judas and Kari glanced to each other.

"What?"

"Eh?"

"... You know. Your stomach's growling? It was a joke?"

"... Your jokes aren't very funny, Rina."

"Oh! I get it! Hahaha!"

_Grrrrooooowl..._

The three of us stopped cold.

Now, none of the palace braziers were lit, so it was very dark beyond a certain point of where we stood. We decided to rely on our natural night vision in lieu of a lighting spell in case there were any guards in the area. Naturally, we wanted to save our energy after we realized the kind of power that Dragomir freely wielded. We would need every ounce, every _gram_ of our power in the inevitably destined final battle with him. I knew it was gonna be difficult and something I'm completely not used to. He cut my Dragon Slave like a dragon _steak_, and that, being my most powerful spell, alone instilled a certain sense of fear and caution in my mind that already gave him an advantage. Could he also deflect it _back_ towards me? They were uncertainties like this, _doubt_, that were going to hold me back.

_If I die fighting Dragomir, I don't want it to be because I _gave_ him the ammo to kill me with._

Judas and Kari drew their swords. I took a step back in the event that a melee ensued within the second, but instead the silence grew oppressive. Something I could sense was making me wish there had been a brawl; I had a feeling that something worse than a gaggle of ironheads was ahead.

The corridor began to feel smaller, the air more compact. A humid quality suddenly seemed to grip the room's atmosphere. I noticed then that the patterned floor seemed to distort at a certain, horizontally straight line. My studies on sorcery and monsters suddenly shot through my mind like a premonition, and I instinctively grabbed Judas and Kari's sleeves.

"Get back! NOW! There's a giant ooze in front of us!"

In their startled confusion, I pulled them back and threw a hand out, a spell following.

"Diem Wing!" The blast of wind stopped me from going any further, instead pushing me back. In order for that to have happened, there must have been a wall — or something else — for the spell to bounce off of. Landing backwards in a skid, I took a few steps back with the momentum as Judas activated a Lighting spell. Kari angled his sword towards the gargantuan ooze that appeared before us and tensed his muscles. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was about to charge, which was a _very_ bad thing to do against a giant ooze.

Oozes are very unusual creatures that defy explanation at a certain point in studying them. They are usually encountered in deep caves and subterranean dungeons, but they were usually rare and not bigger than a horse. This one in front of us was _gigantic_; it was easily a hunk of puke green gelatin the size of a house. Its lurching mass did an excellent job of plugging up any way of bypassing it.

Kari took a step back, and as the force in his legs exploded, I put a foot out to trip him. Instead, he bounded over my sabotage attempt, both filling me with panic and rage at the same time.

"NO, YOU IDIOT!" I screamed.

_SLURRSCH!_

A sound that made me _feel_ filthy simply by hearing it emanated from the translucent wall in front of us as Kari struck a normally fatal blow with his greatsword. But the confident smirk faded from Kari's face when he felt himself being pulled forward by his blade.

"What?" Judas gasped.

"Let it go, Kari!" I shouted.

"But—!"

The sword was suddenly jerked in, but Kari let go just before he, too, was yanked in. As we watched, Kari's sword rusted before our eyes inside the beastly goo. I knew from reading that this was the monster digesting the material it took in. In fact, more grisly remains were still suspended inside the monster's form. There were bones, bleached white, surrealistically hanging within the gelatinous creature. Whether they were human or animal bones, I didn't want to get close enough to find out.

Weaponless, Kari returned to us and clung to one of my mantle's shattered pauldrons.

"Wh-what is that thing?"

"An obstacle," Judas stated plainly.

"Thanks for the observation," I growled. "It's an ooze, Kari. These things wander the corridors of underground dungeons grabbing whatever is in their way and 'eating' them. The truly sick and wrong people of this world catch them and set them loose in their own little mazes for fun. Others use them as a form of security."

"Thanks for the biology lesson," Kari said with false graciousness, "but could we do something about it now?"

"Bram Blazer!"

The blue wave of light that shot from Judas' hands collided violently with the ooze, making it jiggle and shake for a moment, but then it kept advancing on us even afterwards.

"You idiot!" I yelled at Judas. "You're using an astral spell — an element that attacks the _mind_ — on a creature _without_ one!"

Judas gave me this irritated look in the seconds following, but he sighed and, instead of throwing a counter-argument at me, spoke just one too-familiar word:

"Run."

Without argument, we took off in the opposite direction. But we made it only maybe five steps before I heard a foreboding squishy _THUD_ in the darkness beyond what used to lay behind us.

"... You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled. With a gesture, Judas confirmed another ooze coming down the corridor to sandwich us between the first one. Turning our backs to each other and sticking close, Kari muttered, "Any more bright ideas?"

_... That's it!_

A solution in my head, I stepped out to the ooze that was closest, the one that had appeared first. Kari and Judas followed closely, probably for the want of someone with a clue. With practiced ease, I chanted off a fire invocation and created a brilliant fireball over my upheld right hand.

"This is where it gets nasty!" I yelled, and then I threw the fireball at the center of the ooze with as much force as I had in my tired arm. The fireball hadn't even hit the creature before a loud hissing emanated from its amorphous flesh, and a rank odor quickly filled the room just before the fireball exploded at the rough center of the monster's anatomy at my command of _Break_. In a flash of light, the ooze was vaporized without a trace. Only the bones, now charred, and what remained of Kari's heavily corroded sword laid on the ground.

"W-what did you do?" Judas stuttered in awe.

"It was slightly obvious," I started as we began to trot in our original direction, "but I have to admit that it didn't occur to me, either, until after Kari proposed a bright idea.

"Y'see, these monsters live underground because the heat of daylight is utterly _deadly_ to them. Even in arctic climates, the sun is up at least part of the day. Their bodies do a marvelous job of holding heat, you see, and that makes them slowly evaporate. There's something about how they're made that makes them turn into that funky vapor that's now haunting our noses when they're exposed to too much heat. I sped the process up with my super-hot fireball."

I smiled childishly, which didn't amuse Judas, but Kari gave me an approving pat on the head before we started to run again. We didn't waste our time with the second one; I guess we all silently agreed that it would play an obstacle to our enemies if they were chasing us. Well, at least Judas must have thought the same thing. Kari is not so quick to catch on.

It's observations like that that made me doubt any kinship to him whatsoever.

* * *

After only a few more minutes of running, Judas seemed to get his bearings back. As we ran by a few corridors, he would point out the details and utter a word that classified the halls.

"Dining.

"Ballroom.

"Kitchen.

"Servant's Quarters."

"Yeah, okay," I huffed at the last one. "So where is the King and his family?"

Snarling, Judas replied, "Well don't expect me to know..."

"I thought you were an excellent planner at first, Judas, but now I see that you're a wishy-washy, fly-by-your-pants suicido...maniac! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Because then you'd just have flipped out earlier, my scrawny friend."

"SCRAWNY?"

"Mr. Judas and Miss Rina! Control your voices!"

The three of us looked up at the familiar but unseen voice that just chastised Judas and me. Hidden in the shadows of the hallway was a figure wrapped in white robes. At first it looked like one of the many faces and figures carved upon the decadent relief lining the palace's interior, but as it moved I could tell that it was Emilia.

"Princess?" Judas puzzled. Kari shrugged as if he wasn't sure about the answer, but the heavy and graceless landing punctuated the identity of the cloaked figure that had caught us in the hall. It was Emilia without a doubt.

CRASH.

Kari, Judas and I winced in concert. As Emilia stood up, dusting herself off with her left hand and practically resetting her arm socket afterward, she gave us a blank smile and a perky salute.

"I'm so glad to see that you're all okay!"

"Okay is relative..." Judas sighed. When Emilia produced a candle-dim Lighting spell, she raised her free hand to her mouth at the sight of Kari and me. It's not like we were horribly disfigured or anything, but I'm sure we would have looked better than this if we had been involved in an avalanche and an earthquake. At the same time, I think Emilia was just shocked because, from the looks of it, her party had had smooth sailing.

"What—"

"Not now," I interrupted with a grunt. "Hurry and lead us to where you guys are hiding out. I can explain what happened along the way."

As Emilia led us through the glassy halls of her home, I recounted what had happened to us when we followed in through the trap door. I explained that Dragomir jumped us in the throne room and that the fight didn't go so well for us. Kari was without a weapon, I was without a weapon and without wards now, and the two of us were beaten to a near-pulp. Only Judas was in any condition to put up an offensive now, and he likely couldn't fight an enemy of Dragomir's caliber on his own. I decided that giving grim news about Dragomir's apparent invincibility to Emilia now was better than waiting for her to find out on her own, so I did.

At about the time I told her that Dragomir had resisted a full-on Ra Tilt, she pushed the nondescript door of a seemingly random chamber open. A web of white light shot through the frame and formed a strange barrier where the door used to be.

"Hold onto me," Emilia stated in an oddly firm tone. She gave us no reason to doubt her, so the three of us took hold of her hands as she stepped through the portal.

When the glare from the light subsided and my eyes adjusted to the evenly lit, modestly furnished room we had arrived in, I noted the rest of the royals making council on a treasure chest sealed with the Royal Crest of Saillune. They turned their eyes towards us with a slight bit of hostility in them, that which panned away when they identified their visitors. Felicia had the sharpest response to our appearance, jumping up with a gasp and almost gliding over to Kari and me. As if she were my mother, she fretted over the menagerie of injuries I had sustained.

"Lord Laguladia..." she hushed, brushing aside some of my hair. I was annoyed somewhat, but I felt a strange longing for this kind of attention from someone. It could have been that I was missing my own mother back home in Zefielia. It could have been that I was actually afraid of the situation I had been thrust into and simply wanted someone to protect me, even if I knew that I was probably the most capable one with sorcery here.

_Emotions are weird._

I batted Felicia's hand softly and shook my head. "Eh, all this is nothing, Felicia. Trust me," I said with a catty smile, "I've had worse bike accidents than this."

Cocking her head with a worried brow, she sighed through her nose and turned to Kari. Stepping past her, I glanced over to Phil and Emilio. Their faces were ashen and grave. As I met his eyes, Emilio shook his head.

"Dragomir took the Icon with him," he lamented. "I shouldn't have been so naive as to believe that he would leave it unprotected for an instant."

Judas eyes flashed. I caught his expression growing dark from the corner of my eye as he stepped forward.

"So," the swordsman canted. He paused, then continued, "So you're saying we're stuck here now? Without a reason?"

"So it seems... for now, anyway."

I eyed Judas cautiously. I saw his teeth bare before he turned himself away from the silent King and his son with frustrated deliberation. He wasn't telling us something; I could sense it. But before I could construct any sort of interrogation scheme, Emilia interluded.

"We can still escape..."

"And leave Saillune to whatever Dragomir wants?" Felicia remarked with unusual anger in her voice from where she was tending to Kari. Emilia jumped with a start, and then her expression dimmed like a smothered candle. Her face explained everything; Emilia's heart ached with the notion that she had even thought about abandoning Saillune to a despotic clergyman. Sheepishly walking by me, Emilia took her place beside her father, who put a huge hand on her head as if to console her.

"We will think of something!" Phil determined in his louder-than-rational boom. "By the Gods, we have plenty of time to recuperate here."

"Just where is 'here,' anyway?" I asked. Phil, turning on his bum, was more than happy to oblige, from his expression.

"'Here' just so happens to be the Mausoleum of Saillune. Or the gateway, that is."

Gateway seemed more accurate. The whole room wasn't very big; it was about the size of a typical parlor in a townhouse. The room was fairly dark, but the walls were lined with paintings of monarchs from ages past. The heritage of the current family was easy to see through the lifelike depictions. Across from where we entered was a wooden double door set in an arch styled like swirling clouds, the crest of the royal family set at the apex of the portal.

The sensation of a new presence in the room hit me like a brick. I jerked my head up in time to see that everyone else had done the same thing. At the point where our visions converged stood a smiling priest. The imminent danger that I saw in the smile faded away when I realized that this man was not Dragomir, but rather the priest that had intervened in our fight with him. Holding his gnarled staff perpendicular to his black-cloaked body, the violet haired traveler took a step forward and bowed.

"Ah, hello," he greeted in the most friendly voice anyone could possibly muster. "I apologize for our hasty introduction back in the main hall. Business is murder, as you may say."

For some reason, the way he said the joke was just wrong. It was chilling in a sense, almost as if he _meant_ it _literally_. No one, not even Kari, found it funny. Everyone went stern-faced and suspicious, and the strange man's black humor wasn't making it any easier on us.

"... Well," he spoke after an uneasy cough. "It seems I've struck the wrong chord. Allow me to make reparation for that." With practiced courtesy, the man bowed to us again.

"My name is Xelloss." The newly introduced priest darted the gaze of his dark, lively eyes between each of us, seeming to pierce our forced defenses and observe us in an almost exposing way. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stormed up to him, puffing my chest out.

"And I'm Rina Erris!" I yelled. Grabbing his collar alarmed Judas and Kari; they seemed to remember him fighting off Dragomir. But I felt no fear from this punk, and the way I had been jerked around by the clergy at that point, I wasn't feeling like being hospitable. "Now that we have the niceties out of the way," I hissed, "what the hell do you want with us!"

Keeping that smile on his face, Xelloss raised a finger and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "Why, I just wanted to help you out. That Dragomir fellow really gets under my skin, if you know what I mean, and I have a long-standing score to settle with hi—"

"Lies!" I shrieked. "Dragomir told us in one of his long-winded diatribes that a priest of YOUR description told him about the Grimoire Inverse, the Sword of Light, and how to retrieve them from Saillune when he was first traveling this place! So we _know_ that you _know_ more than you're letting on, freakshow!"

Judas placed his fingers against the temples of his head. Kari looked confused as ever, and Emilia was whispering something to Emilio, who looked just as bewildered as his twin sister. Distrust filled the latter two's eyes, and I wondered if I should have just killed the bastard in my hands to be safe.

_I doubt it would be that easy._

Xelloss' expression melted to neutral after my shakedown, but a smile slowly rippled across his thin lips.

"It seems that you know more than I realized. Very well! I will tell you everything."


	15. Chapter XIV: The Demon Slayer

"You'll tell us... everything?" I asked with a puzzled frown. "Somehow... I doubt that."

"Oh?"

"I second that sentiment," replied Judas. Beside Judas, Kari shrugged and turned to something he could understand better, like the pockmarks on the masonry walls. Emilia and Emilio's discussion was tuned down to a silent contemplation fraught with shifty stances and suspicious glares. Emilia looked like an offended cat, as did her brother. Though their parents seemed clueless, the twins seemed to be aware of something unsettling.

"Well, most of what you might ask me I can answer." Xelloss' answer was short, but with the drawls he added to some of the words, the sentence went on longer than it probably should have. As a group, we were running low on both patience and stamina. Xelloss' time wasting inflections were just the salt we needed on our wounds.

"Alright," I sneered, letting go of his collar. With a smile, Xelloss withdrew one step and straightened his mantle.

"Very well!" he exclaimed at end. "What would you ask of me first?"

"You showed up at a rather convenient time..." I started.

"Hmm... If memory serves me, that isn't a quest—"

"I'm _getting_ to it!" I yelled. With an even more irritating smile, he awaited the rest of my thought.

"And you've done it twice, appearing conveniently; first to help us out, second to... answer our questions." So the last part of the sentence wasn't the most eloquent example of interrogation out there. But it seemed to do well for what it was, so I didn't bother trying to clarify further. With a stroke of his chin, Xelloss let out a nasal _'hum.'_ Following the hum were his words.

"Well, that still wasn't a question."

I hit my head. He was right. I couldn't do this; my mind was a mess.

"Judas! Please take over... but don't kill him."

Giving me a disapproving glare, Judas stepped into my place between Xelloss and the rest of our group. I took a seat with the twins and put my forehead against a propped-up hand. Emilia instinctively started treatment on my bruises, furrowing her brows as she noted the more severe ones that resulted from Dragomir's staff. I couldn't see it myself, but Emilia muttered about my shoulders and neck turning purple. I could feel the heat and stiffness of a bad bruise, though. Meanwhile...

"How did you get in here?" Judas asked in an intimidating growl.

_Not this 'vigilante of the night' crap. What's he gonna do next? Flip over a table to scare him?_

No, it wouldn't be that easy. Xelloss didn't look like the scareable type. He gave off the vibe of someone that would streak through a dragon's cave for a giggle. Well, streak with a belt of bells around his waist. Yeah, that's more like him. He seemed either dangerously flippant, or flippantly confident.

"I have my methods, Mister... er, what's your name?"

"Nothing. Just answer my damn questions."

"Okay, Mister Nothing. Fire away."

It was easy to tell that Judas wanted to do just that, but with a spell rather than with words. But to Judas' credit, he didn't lose his temper. He also lost the forced growl. Good thing, too, because if I didn't know better I would have thought that he was constipated or something unpleasant like that.

"Your timing... How was it so good, again?"

"It's simple," Xelloss began with a raised index finger. "For the longest time there was a powerful ward around the palace of Saillune. Nothing worthwhile could be cast in there but white magic. Earlier tonight, the structure enforcing the ward met with some sort of misfortune and was utterly destroyed."

I smiled a little on the inside at that.

"I don't know who could have been so reckless, indiscreet, and desperate to have gone about disarming the ward that way, but there it was."

I _didn't_ smile on the inside at that. Instead, I grit my teeth. On the outside, that is. But no one noticed, or if they did they took it as a show of the pain on my body.

"As I had business to settle with Dragomir, I took this as an opportunity and jumped right into the grounds at the first moment I could."

"So that means... you watched us do battle with Dragomir?" Judas snarled.

"Heavens no!" Xelloss replied with a rapid shake of his head. "I would have interfered sooner. I had another assignment on my agenda that took precedence over disposing of Dragomir."

"Wait," I interjected. "_Disposing_? You're out to _kill_ Dragomir? I guess business really is murder, huh?"

"Oops," Xelloss said while muffling his mouth with his fingertips. "I've said too much."

"The hell you did," hissed Judas. He pushed Xelloss roughly with one hand, prompting Kari to put himself in between the two.

"Judas!" I yelled sharply. "Don't lose your freaking temper here, alright? We have time on our side for the moment."

"Grr..." Judas was becoming more impatient and less compliant. Something was bothering him, something that he wasn't letting the rest of us in on. The sudden change of mood that came with Xelloss appearance indicated that. We were all tired and irritated, and Judas was naturally a grouch, but this seemed unusual even for him.

"Miss Rina!" Emilia whispered to me with a hasty tone. "May I say that I don't trust this Xelloss man?"

"Yeah..." I replied. "But why do you say that? I thought it would have been obvious from his shifty demeanor, way too pleasant expression, and sketchy motives."

Emilia lowered her voice even further.

"It's because this room is actually a _subspace pocket_. No one can get in without one of the royal family letting them in!"

That shone a new light on Xelloss. Subspace is like another dimension sculpted out of the astral plane. If one tried to teleport into a subspace pocket, it would be like hitting a wall. Subspace pockets are like bubbles, in theoretical structure, but they only 'bend' at certain points and only to certain triggers, as determined by the creator at its creation. That Xelloss was able to get in here so effortlessly was a little unnerving.

"Xelloss..." I murmured. The priest perked an ear, turning from Judas and Kari for a moment. "Yes, Miss Rina?"

"I've just learned that this room doesn't really exist."

Puzzled, Xelloss scratched his head. "Hmm... It _looks_ existishly. Why would you say it doesn't exist?"

"Because," I started, pausing here for effect, "this is a subspace pocket."

Xelloss' smile faded momentarily.

_Aha! That can only mean one thing..._

Slowly, I turned to Phil, my hands intertwined on my lap.

"Phil... I know this might be embarrassing, but... did you have any illegitimate children?"

"WHAT?" Everyone screamed at once. In an explosion of activity, Xelloss fell to his knees with a huge sigh. Judas, in typical 'I'm-surrounded-by-idiots' fashion, covered his face and shook his head. Kari sighed and muttered something about kids reading too much smut nowadays. Phil found himself in the hot seat, being glared at by Felicia and his progeny.

"Daddy! Why didn't you tell me I had a bigger brother?" Emilia yelled.

"And why didn't you tell us he was such a fruit basket?" Emilio added.

Phil slapped his bearish paws on the table that we sat at, shaking it threateningly.

"Xelloss is not my son!" he bellowed. "Why don't you give me the chance to answer first, huh? It is UNJUST to assume!"

"... He's right," Emilia intoned sheepishly. Looking to her brother, they both vowed: "Let it be that from now on we shall never assume again!"

Of course, such a vow will have to break sometime; you just can't help assuming now and then, on reflex even. Now that we had gotten that whole mystery cleared up, I turned to Xelloss with the same scholarly expression on my face.

"So, Xelloss," I stated, my expression breaking into a grin. "That leaves you to explain how you got in here."

Brow raised, Xelloss produced a peculiar statuette from his bag.

"This, perhaps?"

"Huh?"

"Imposs—"

"Villain!"

"The I—"

"—con!"

"How—?"

"Such a word salad," Xelloss replied with a chuckle and a wide smile. "This was what I went for before Dragomir. I knew I wouldn't get far without it."

That explained why Emilio and company couldn't find the Icon in the treasury or all the other clever hiding spots that Dragomir probably has throughout the palace. With the way Xelloss moves, there was little reason for me to doubt this. Judas looked fairly satisfied, if pissed, at the answer. With the Icon in Xelloss' possession, it meant we were at his mercy, for better or for worse.

"Get far, huh? Just what do you intend to do with that?" I asked with a cautious smile. Silence pervaded when Xelloss didn't answer immediately. He just wore that creepy grin and slowly paced away from me. Then, he turned, and as his cape came to rest with a swish, he popped an eyelid open.

"This."

The Icon went airborne. A stunned moment passed with no one moving, and at the last possible second we all dove for the point of the statuette's impact. Metal as though it was, it was still fragile, and there was no risking our only chance for possible victory now. Either Felicia or I caught it; between my bent arm and the two men on top of me, that's the best I could tell. Voices blended like drinks at a bar when the complaints started flying. After shoving my way out and flinging the hair from my face, I noticed that Xelloss had beaten the scene.

"Wait a minute!" I shouted through the cacophony. "Why did we all just do that? This can't be broken by falling on the ground!"

_Tap._

"YAAAAAAAAAH!" I jumped and nearly hit the roof; Xelloss was behind me when I whirled around.

"You've such a dirty conscience to be so jumpy, Miss Rina," Xelloss remarked with a smile.

"How about I prove just how conscienceless I am and beat a priest to a pulp?" I mumbled at Xelloss. He pursed his lips and waved it off with his unoccupied hand as if it was a joke, and it wasn't. I really WOULD have beaten him with any further provocation.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Kari yelled. Even he was pissed now.

"Oh, amusement? Whim? Maybe I slipped. I don't remember anymore."

I stared at him, dumbfounded. With a shrug, Xelloss also waved that off. "At any rate, it is past now. No need to be sore about it, right?"

"Like Hell. Why don't you go and do us a favor now — by killing Dragomir?"

"Oh, I tried."

Xelloss blinked out of sight. I looked around, and then behind me before he popped out of nowhere and poked me in the shoulder as I anticipated him to. But nothing happened.

"Xelloss? Don't leave! I'm not through with you yet!" I shouted, hoping for a too-jocund reply. But nothing happened, still.

"Xelloss? XELLOSS!" Judas roared. "Is that it? Are you leaving us for sport again?"

"For sport?" I repeated as I turned a glare on Judas. I'd had enough of his inside jokes. "Jude, you know something else. You've been acting weird ever since confronting Dragomir."

Judas lowered his clenched hands, only responding with an unfriendly glare. I returned the sentiment with the exact same expression. As Emilia glanced around, she shook head. "Mr. Xelloss is really gone this time."

"How can you tell?" I asked.

"It's just this weird feeling," Emilio explained. "It feels like... we should be extra cautious around him."

"Yes, Brother," Emilia added. "He's powerful... moreso than he's letting on."

"And he 'tried' to kill Dragomir?"

"And failed, from the sounds of it," Phil droned grimly.

If someone of Xelloss' talents couldn't kill Dragomir, what chance did we stand? About one percent, if I remember math well enough. But I always did suck at math, and my family's motto _is_, "Take that chance!"

_... He could have been lying. I mean, Xelloss _does_ know too much about everything — me included — to be a simple background player in all this. For all we know, he's pulling the strings._

But it wasn't like it was something we could help for the moment.

_Now that we do have the Icon in our possession..._

"Felicia," I addressed the fair queen. "Could you lead us in?"

"Me? Nope. This... is Emmy's job," she said lightly as she handed her daughter the Icon with a kiss on the cheek. Emilia took it in both hands with such care that one would have thought that she was taking a baby into her arms instead. Her eyes filled with unease, probably afraid of dropping it more than anything else. But then I saw her stare at the carved archway on the door; I suddenly knew what her real fear was.

Beyond that place laid answers to questions long posed, answers that would change _all_ of our lives. My heart felt like it was intensifying its beats, but slowing in frequency. I jumped at the sensation of a hand falling on my shoulder only to notice it was Kari's. I glanced up briefly enough to catch the shadow of a comforting smile on his face. I wanted to punch it and return it at the same time, I was so confused. Judas walked past my fore to lurk at the back of the party once again. His arms folded themselves, it seemed, a habit formed of frequency. His hood ripped to shreds, Judas kept it off for once.

Phil stood up and walked out to the door that lead further in. Squinting, he raised a hand and placed it on a circle of runes carved into the wood. Those same runes emitted a white glow, and the sound of something large sliding out of place sounded from beyond it.

The door opened effortlessly, and the King stood aside as he beckoned us to go in.

* * *

As our eyes acclimated to the light of the room we had entered, we realized that this was definitely like the rest of the palace in terms of decor. Where it was on the world map, however, was anyone's guess.

"So this is the Mausoleum," Emilio mused in the glow of his Lighting spell. He was currently holding it up to a wall inscribed with a number of engravings, but the frustrated look on his face indicated that he couldn't interpret what they said. One look at the etchings discouraged me as well. They looked like runes, but if that's what they were, the script they were written in distorted them horribly.

"For a royal mausoleum, it isn't very impressive."

My jaw fell open at Kari's disrespect. As I wound up my arm to hit him over the head, a rock came loose from the ceiling and did the deed for me.

"Huh. See that, Kari? Not even the dead want to take your crap. I mean, it's not like _you_ get a mausoleum, right? So what would you know?"

"All right, all right. Sheesh; can't take a darn joke..." Kari spent the rest of the short walk in silence, rubbing the spot where the ceiling rock had bonked him.

As I said, the walk was short, and it was also uneventful. Aside from stopping along with the royal family as they paid tribute to their ancestors with a small prayer and silent meditation at the foot of each sarcophagus, I gradually fell to the rear march with Judas.

"Hey, Jude," I greeted.

"... What do you want?" he rudely mumbled to me. I took it easy, shrugging and giving him a sympathetic look.

"I just wondered what you were thinking, that's all."

"No one should be interested in what I'm thinking."

"You're joking, right? You know, girls like that _mysterious past_ stuff."

"... Rina. Are you... hitting on me?"

I felt my face burn. "Eh, what? No! It was just a comment!"

_Ugh. Bastard! Why do men always read hidden messages into things that don't have any and can't catch a clue when you're dropping a million hints?_

"I don't know. It seemed pretty timely for a comment..."

"Yeah. The depths of a _tomb_ are just where I like to pick dates up." I shook my head. "Enough adolescent crap! What else do you know about Xelloss, Judas? Tell me!"

Judas fell silent again.

_Oho no, not this time. I'm not letting you get away with it that easily._

"Oh come on. You're not making it any less obvious by giving me the silent treatment when I bring Xelloss up. Is he a best friend of yours? An in-law, maybe?"

"Grr... no!" Judas growled.

"Then what is it? Come straight with me, now!"

"Xelloss..." Jude growled, "he was mentioned in Zelgadiss' writings."

For a moment, I didn't process what I was hearing. But as I paid more attention to Judas' straight, stony expression, I realized that he was being truthful. My flesh went cold. I faked a chuckle to try and hide my nervousness behind a veil of disbelief.

"Hah. That's impo—"

"I know, I know!" Judas yelled at me, the confusion evident. "It was almost 200 years ago that those records were written, so Xelloss would have to be over 210 years old... _at least_."

Judas' thoughtful melancholy was contagious. Now we either had an imposter with some serious power in his hands or the real deal of someone with some serious power in his hands... who couldn't take out Dragomir, at that. Either way, we were in trouble.

_Caught between two powerful priests. Oi, why me?_

According to Dragomir, he knew that I would be needed to obtain the Grimoire Inverse. Some sort of defense mechanism was implemented by Lina Inverse to prevent anyone but her descendants from accessing the tome. With Xelloss' ability to get into subspace pockets (because I doubt that simply having had the Icon of Saillune let him in), he could have been following us this entire time, just waiting for me to crack the safe so that he could loot the goods.

_Xelloss should be treated as a threat,_ I concluded.

"Hm," Judas hummed. "It looks like we've arrived at St. Amelia's tomb."

It was like few other royal tombs that I had witnessed before. The materials it was fashioned out of were fairly simple — marble and glass. I saw no precious gems or gold detailing on it. There was a simple plate of polished metal that adorned the foot of the sarcophagus. It read:

_Interred here is Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, Second Daughter of Philionel el de Saillune — Hammer of Justice, Protector of Peace, Saint of the Holy Kingdom, Queen of Saillune. Her life was long and devoted to the good of the people; let none sully Saillune's name in her wake._

"Poor St. Amelia," Emilia sighed as she gently put a hand on the girlish statue's face. "She must be turning in her grave with all of Dragomir's crimes afoot."

I looked to the sarcophagus' face and then to Emilia's. Again, there was that uncanny resemblance. Idly, I wondered if I looked anything like my ancestor when she was my age.

As we walked by St. Amelia's sarcophagus after paying respects, Judas stopped and contemplated the tomb for a long moment. I looked to Phil, since he seemed to know where we're going, and asked him something I probably should've asked earlier.

"Do we even know what we are looking for?"

"Hmm," he rumbled. "There wasn't much to go on regarding the subject. But since St. Amelia was Lady Lina's close friend, I would suppose—"

We halted in our tracks after we noticed Judas wasn't following, and we began to double back. But before we were halfway, we heard the sound of a heavy stone lid hitting the ground in concert with Judas' grunting.

I nearly slapped my face.

"... Judas, you DIDN'T..."

"Desecration!" Phil roared with a anger in his voice. As he took off in a mad dash, the rest of us followed. We feared not for what we would find, but for what Phil would make of Judas for his actions. If anything, we had to get to Judas _first_.

When we arrived, though, we were stunned to see that St. Amelia's sarcophagus wasn't a sarcophagus at all.

"A... a trapdoor?" Phil roared again. Judas was on top of what should have been the sarcophagus, tugging at the lid.

"It's either stuck or locked," he muttered in between grunts. "But there's no obvious way to unlock it..." Judas sneered.

"Well," Felicia murmured. "It is very unusual for there to be a door where there is supposed to be a tomb, right?"

"Yes," I replied. At the moment, the gears in my head were also turning. "Hey, Emilia! Why don't you come and give this door a try?"

Emilia skipped to the fore as briskly as she could. If my theory was correct, this door was locked with whatever enchantment was used as the initial lock for the passage into the Gate of the Mausoleum. Emilia simply laying her hands on the door would deactivate it and allow it to be opened. For the rest of us, destroying it with brute force would have been our only option. But in addition to wanting to conserve our power, this was a tomb — we have respect for the dead. And no, being a sorceress specializing in black magic does not make me like those necromancer lowlifes, hence the respect for the dead.

Well, some of us. I'm just glad we didn't have to pick Judas' pieces off the walls with tweezers.

_Zombies creep me out anyway._

_Creeeeak_. The door opened just like I had thought. Clutching the ring of the trapdoor still, Emilia peeked out from under the large board and watched as Judas' spiky hair disappeared beneath the threshold of the sarcophagus. Strangely, there was a light coming from the inside of the door, and the rest of us soon became anxious as one by one we entered in a single file. The last one in, me, made sure to close the door to prevent any trailers from proceeding further; that enchantment was supposed to hold even after being deactivated once, at least from what I could tell from context.

"My God..."

It didn't matter who said that. Every one of us was either thinking it or saying it at the same time. In a glass coffin laced with gold detailing and based with white marble laid St. Amelia's body, fresh as it had been at the time of her death. But rather than being dead, it looked as if she were sleeping peacefully instead. I half expected her eyes to flutter open and her head to tilt eerily aside to address us. Thankfully, inside, it didn't happen.

St. Amelia looked fairly elderly, but she was extremely good looking for someone who had supposedly lived a full life. Her hair had retained its black raven shine, and her skin was only marred by laugh lines and a few worry wrinkles on the forehead. Her lips still looked full and her body, tragically, was fuller than mine.

_Damn it. I can't compete _even_ with a dead 140-year old lady. This does nothing for my self-esteem._

"The legends!" Emilio spoke excitedly, though hushed as to show respect. "Th-they really are true!"

Regardless of my curve-envy, I was impressed with the condition the body was in. Preservation of this level was nearly unheard of.

Further ahead beyond the glass coffin was another arched doorway like the one back at the gateway. But instead of a door, it looked like there was just a wall in its place. However, in the center of that wall was a pedestal. There was a script written just above it.

I read the words aloud as I observed them:

_"Granted take not Thy time, for it is fleeting. Produce the Icon of the Holy Kingdom, in the hour of doom. Its saviors present must enter here into history, ever proceeding."_

"Man, I hate riddles," Kari mumbled from the back. Turning, I shook my head to Kari.

"This isn't a riddle. It's more like a... like a prophecy," I trailed off into a whisper.

Given that and the fact that the pedestal looked like just the right size to accommodate the Icon of Saillune, I looked back and called out to the pure maiden of the family.

"Emilia! Look," I said, pointing to the pedestal. "I think that's where you're supposed to put the Icon!"

Phil looked up from his prostration at the foot of St. Amelia and narrowed his eyes.

"By the Gods. I think you are right, Miss Rina," he said gruffly, his voice kept low out of reverence. With a hand, he nudged Emilia in that direction. "Go on, dear daughter."

With a smile and a nod, Emilia swept forward and stood before the pedestal. She closed her eyes and took a breath; it seemed like she was praying. I did, too; it was certainly a mutual hope that whatever happened wasn't horribly unexpected.

Emilia took the Icon firmly in her grip and placed it on the platform extending from the wall piece in the center of the archway. The runes on the pedestal glowed blue-white. The rest of the room seemed to darken in their illumination. The Icon as it was shattered, and revealed from the inside was a nondescript amulet with a pink band and blue spherical crystal. It looked almost as if it were a bangle. I raised a hand to my mouth as I contemplated the simplicity of the true Icon's form.

_All this for a simple amulet_, I thought. The wall inside the archway seemed to give way to an endless expanse of gray. From the infinity of that endless field came rushing at us the sight of a door. At full speed, it looked like it would hit us. But it stopped on a dime, fitting right into the archway. The amulet fit perfectly in the center of the door, and the pentacle in its mass flashed white before the sound of a large tumbler clicked over our heads.

"... It's open," Emilia said. Placing a shaky hand on the simple doorknob, and another hand upon that one, she turned the brass device and pushed through the door. One by one we followed until the door closed behind us, and darkness flooded our vision.

Emilio refreshed his Lighting spell to give us a better look at the room we had entered. It had no decoration to speak of, seeming like just a plain old basement room in any given house.

Another pedestal caught my eye out of the corner of my gaze. Through the hazy light that pervaded that foggy, cool interior, I could make out a glass case holding something. I separated from the others and walked over to this new coffin, but I soon found out that it was no coffin. As the fog cleared away from my eyes, I realized that my answers were within arms' reach. The book of a hundred legends and a thousand myths lay in the same case as a derelict sword that seemed to be forged of rust. A brown, leather-bound tome of considerable size and thickness stared back at me with its timeless pentacle seal.

"This is it!" I yelled with the most excited voice I'd had in a while. "It-it's real! It's really here! I-I-I—"

Words since became useless to me. With what remained of my shortsword, I began to carve a hole in the glass. But that was useless; instead my sword's tip left a fine gray trail as the end of it made a horrid screeching noise and turned to iron filings.

"Huh. It's protected better than I thought."

I glanced over my shoulder to find that no one was paying attention to me. I couldn't tell why; it wasn't as if they were speaking amongst each other. It was too quiet in here to not hear anyone say anything, even in a whisper.

But too occupied to care, I tried plan B — punching the glass and taking the contents, inner city style!

All I gained was a bloodied knuckle.

Quickly getting frustrated at this so-close-yet-so-far scenario, I took off my glove to suck on my sore knuckle.

"Oh come on. Why won't you open up?" With that battlecry, I took an overhead hammer swing at the case. This time, as soon as my bare hand touched it, the glass vanished. In surprise I stumbled forward and landed on the corner of the pedestal with my belly — not fun. Even though the pain would have been something I normally considered intense, the feeling of a rough surface made me look up. My hand was assuredly on the book so long sought after by so many. I felt an almost enlightened sense of fulfillment as I gazed upon the mundane-looking book.

"I really am... Lina Inverse's heir... aren't I?"

"Yeah. So it's time to start acting like her!"

I sucked in a sharp breath. I whirled around — no one was there. I whirled around again — and again, no one was there. I looked and looked, but the rest of the group was gone, though the room was unchanged.

"Judas! Emilia! Kari! Emilio, Phil, Felicia?"

_Fwssh._ I felt a soft breeze pass me by, something landing a few feet behind me.

"Let me see you with my own eyes," the new female voice said. Slowly, I turned first my head, then followed with my body. As my gaze re-centered, I could see now that a redheaded woman decked out in festive sorceress' apparel stood eye-to-eye with me, arms akimbo. Her face was stoic until a moment after; she had a too-familiar sarcasticness about her. I saw myself in her, and I bit my lip to keep myself from shouting an unlikely assumption. But she answered it for me.

"Hi. I'm Lina Inverse. It's an honor to meet me, I'm sure."


	16. Chapter XV: The Girl That Time Forgot

Like before, the name bounced around in the confines of my head as I contemplated it.

_Lina Inverse..._

Lina looked decidedly opposite of the beastly demoness that history had painted her as. An inch or two taller than me as she stood, Lina's hair was a dark red that faded into brown in certain lights. Her eyes were like mine — red as garnets, and curious. The outfit she wore was really traditional, like something out of a museum. It consisted of a scarlet robe, matching trousers, and a few golden bands for adornment. Lining those bands were lines of runes and a few amulets. She wore no mantle, though, and I basically didn't either; it was torn to tatters, and the pauldrons were little more than shards of brittle metal hanging from the frame of my cloak.

"Ugh."

"Huh?" I spoke as Lina groaned. I was speechless at the moment; chalk it up to meeting a legendary historical figure that you are allegedly a descendant to. But I realized that I was also under her scrutiny now, as well. That can make an aspiring sorceress very uncomfortable.

"That mantle... I can swear that was mine."

"But..." I trailed off, glancing at the right shoulder guard during the brief pause, "How can you tell?"

"Simple. I customized them with my own wards." Casually, she pointed out the etchings along the remains. "That's my script right there; no mistaking it. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's mine now. Why is it broken?"

"Oh." As a sorceress, I should have known. I found this particular cloak in my house's attic, inside an old trunk with the shortsword I carried. They were considered old family heirlooms and highly valuable for both their sentimental value and their make. But when I ran away, I figured that they would be more use to me than to my family. Yeah, my career began with burglary. It's embarrassing.

"And that sword, too!" Lina cried. "Please tell me that's still in one piece..."

Knitting my jaw and catching my lower lip between my teeth, I pulled the blade out of the scabbard halfway to show the jagged fissures running down into the hilt. "... Sorry?"

Lina didn't look amused. Gliding over to the pedestal upon which sat the book and the old sword, she took a seat on the marble surface. Crossing her legs, she studied me for a long moment. I felt nervous the entire time, wondering what was going through her mind. I knew what was going through mine — _is she really _real_? Or is she another apparition of my stressed mind?_

"So, kid; what's your name?"

I grunted. "Cut the 'kid' crap, alright?"

Lina raised her brows, a small smile on her lips. "Oh hell. You're a firebrand, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, usually," I muttered. "You can call me Rina."

"... _Inverse_?" she asked with a sly echo in her voice. To her disdain, I shook my head. My response was less sly and more grim.

"Erris."

"Oh." Like a disappointed cat, Lina seemed to fold her ears and look at her feet. "Your parents weren't very creative in naming you, were they?"

I huffed and folded my arms. "Like I could help it. It's, what, a few letters different from yours? Hell, I didn't know I was related to you until yesterday."

To that Lina blinked hard. It was almost as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

_Heh. As if she should be the one disbelieving anything_.

"How... long has it been?" she asked me pointedly.

"Since?"

"... Overseas travel began, to the west," she said after a moment of thought.

Stopping to do my math, I tapped my chin. "Hmm... I'd say about 200 years."

Lina's rosy complexion went milky white. "My God...! It's been a really, _really_ long time then..."

"Yeah," I stated as I slapped my hand down on the same pedestal that Lina was sitting on. "So, that brings us to this," I continued as I traced a line across the platform onto the infamous Grimoire. "What the hell's in this book anyway?"

Lina looked at me with a critical glare. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" she hissed. Her sudden hostility was an issue of confusion to me. "You dress like a sorceress and look like one, but _are_ you? You don't seem all that competent to me, really."

I grit my teeth. Even if Lina was a historical figure of great renown, I wasn't going to let her insult me like that.

"That's not really a fair assessment, _grandma_. While you've been down here doing gods-know-what, I've been running roughshod across this continent, hunting treasure, and, more recently, getting chased down and imprisoned by a nutty priest who's hell-bent on conquering the entirety of this region."

Lina's eyes fired up at the 'grandma' comment; she was reaching for my throat until I stated the bit about Dragomir, at which she stopped in mid-movement and withdrew.

"A nutty... p-priest?"

_Stutter. NOT GOOD._

"Y... yeah," I replied with a gulp.

"Does he have dark hair, wear black robes, and pop up at too-convenient times?"

"... Xelloss?"

Lina's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. In addition, she covered her mouth as if she wanted to vomit. The reaction was violent enough to spook me off of the impromptu bench I was sharing with her, but it seemed that she knew my mysterious friend.

"Well... that was interesting," I said through a cough. "But that's not the priest I was talking about, although he's involved in this as well."

Moving her hand as if she was wiping her mouth, Lina grinned ruefully. "Is that so," she stated ominously. Ignoring the undertones of inescapable doom that laced Lina's voice like the runes in my cape, I went on to briefly explain Dragomir — his outsider origins, his rise to power, and the disastrous ambitions he had in store for all of us — and how he intended on accomplishing his goals.

"Haha, wait." Lina hopped off her seat to look into my eyes. "This Dragomir guy wants to use MY book to wreak havoc on the Demon King of the North?" She tossed her head back and laughed shrilly before continuing her speech. "Hoo, funny. Not even I am that powerful. Not in life, not in death, and I'm not nearly that _stupid_ to openly wage war on the _King_ of every goddamn _demon_ on the face of the planet!"

"That's what I told him," I sighed, shaking my head. I was glad to see that Lina and I thought similarly on at least that. "But you've gotta see Dragomir for yourself; he's a fanatic in every sense. Unfortunately, he's also ungodly powerful for a priest."

Lina groaned. "That's always the case, isn't it?"

Puzzled, I implored what she meant. "'Always the case'? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh. I'm just rambling about the past, heh. You're familiar with Rezo the Red Priest, right?"

"Of course I am! You know how insulting it is to ask a sorcerer that?"

"Just making sure. I dunno how you do things now; lots can change in 200 years." I shrugged, and Lina continued.

"Anyway, I met Rezo. Personally."

"N-no way!"

"Way," she stated matter-of-factly. "I didn't believe it at first, either. And I have to say it isn't all it was cracked up to be. If anything was cracked up, it was Rezo _himself_."

"Huh. I guess none of these legends are what they're made out to be."

"Oh hell no, Rezo more so than others. You see, after several skirmishes with him and his goons, I, _we_, found out that Rezo was one-seventh of none other than _Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu_."

Any words that I might have had caught in my throat. Lina gave me a grave glance from the corner of her eyes, nodding sagely as she noticed my response.

"I couldn't believe it at the time, either. But Rezo was after the Philosopher's Stone for the sole purpose of using its power to rebirth the piece of Ruby-Eye that he had sealed in his eyes. Over time, Ruby-Eye had slowly poisoned Rezo's mind — at first, he was a genuinely good guy, but Ruby-Eye used his desperation in finding a cure for his sightlessness to manipulate him into resurrecting the Demon King."

The Philosopher's Stone, Ruby-Eye, Rezo... There are no words to describe the amount of surprise and astonishment that I felt at hearing how much Lina had encountered in just one series of events, how many _myths_ and _legends_ she came into contact with.

"So... you actually _fought_ Ruby-Eye..."

"Mhm," Lina replied with a nod. "Even though it's been so long, it's still fresh in my mind. Those things you just can't forget, even if you wanted to." Again, she glanced aside to me. "I'll be honest — I was scared like no other time in my life. I was only fifteen, and I was up against a cosmic force with only my comparably tiny power and my two friends Zelgadiss and Gourry to help me get through it. Of course, I would have never admitted it at the time. I had to psych Ruby-Eye out, of course."

I shrugged. Seemed logical, especially the psyching out bit, except it was illogical to attempt to psych out the frickin' _Demon King_. _Well, what would I have done in her shoes?_ I asked myself. To boot, two names that I recognized were also in that chunk of speech.

"Gourry and Zelgadiss?" I asked, curious to hear more about those two in particular.

"Yeah. Gourry was the Swordsman of Light. He had the Sword of Light before he so clumsily lost it in Sairaag. Zelgadiss was Rezo's grandson. He had some serious self-esteem issues, and he was hell-bent on killing Rezo and, then, finding a cure to his chimericism..."

"Karius and Judas..." I murmured softly. I didn't think Lina would hear me, but boy was I wrong.

"Come again?" Lina interrupted as I was trailing off the 's' in 'Judas.' I took a breath and went on to explain.

"Karius is a friend of mine. A mercenary. Tall, blonde... allegedly a Gabriev. So I venture him to be related to your Gourry. Maybe you, too."

Lina blinked, but I kept going before she could say anything to interrupt me. The way these conversations were going, any small detail could derail the whole thing.

"Judas can trace his heritage right back to Zelgadiss. In fact, they were a pretty powerful family in Kalmaart before it all fell apart when Judas started changing into his present state — one-third human, one-third golem, and one-third brow demon. Needless to say, he blames himself."

"Sounds like deja vû to me," Lina quipped. "But the Gabrievs were a _huge_ family in my time; he may be completely unrelated to you, even if Gourry was my husband. Judas, however... the way you talk about him, he sounds like a blueblood. How is _he_ a chimera, though?"

"He's far from nobleish, though. He's a bastard beyond reason to be one, though I figure I'd be pissed and angsty all the time if I woke up one morning and found out that my sunkissed complexion had turned to stone. As for how... that's something he himself is trying to find out. So, anyway," I interrupted myself, watching Lina nod, "how _did_ you defeat Ruby-Eye?"

Lina's lip quirked into a half-smile, and she raised a finger as if to start pointing out several things on a chalkboard. But then a darkness seemed to cloud her eyes, and she bit her lip, shaking her head so slightly that I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been so closely paying attention to her.

"... Lina?" I finally spoke up after the uncomfortable silence.

Lina withdrew her hand from the air, folding it 'tween her arms. "I... I can't tell you."

"What!" I yelled, feeling angry all of a sudden. "Why not!"

"Because," Lina droned sorrowfully, "It's too risky."

"Risky my ass. What if _I_ have to do the same thing, huh? What if Dragomir just so happens to harbor a piece of Ruby-Eye inside of him?"

Lina looked unamused. "Why would a part of Ruby-Eye want to fight the Demon King of the North?" she proposed to me. "What could he possibly gain besides his own destruction?"

"I don't know," I replied, my countenance hard. "But I do know one thing — Dragomir is too powerful to be a human alone, unaided. I'd have to say that for _anyone_ who could cut my Dragon Slave in half with only a staff."

"Really." Lina's response was so flat that I couldn't even count it as a rhetorical question. It seemed as if she was unconcerned with my plight now.

_So much for legends, huh?_

"Lina, I have to know."

"... _My mind is my power_," Lina chanted.

I shook my head; it was ringing. A sharp pain blasted my forehead, and again it felt like it was going to burst from the pressure. It brought me to my knees, growling and eventually having to scream.

I looked up, squinting in the piercing light, to see Lina looking down at me with a frown. She sighed briefly and presently said, "This still doesn't make sense."

Seeing as it was all cryptic to me, I shouted in varying timbres: "What the hell doesn't make sense?"

"Your spirit. It resonates with... _It_."

I didn't take this as particularly thrilling news. Anything addressed with a nongendered pronoun in a grave tone cannot be a good thing.

"_It!_" I proceeded to scream through the pain.

"The Lord of Nightmares."

* * *

The ringing subsided, and like that the pain faded away. As soon as I found out I was able to, I stood up on my feet and took a swing at Lina. Though I would have clocked her right in the chin, my fist passed through her like so much vapor. Her image seemed to distort a bit, but it stayed intact. Lina cackled slightly. I stumbled past her and whirled around; I squinted, my eyes still being slightly sensitive to the light.

"What the hell... did you do?"

"Me, I didn't do anything," Lina explained flatly. "I just spoke a few Chaos Words — your mind did the rest."

"Whatever; what is the Lord of Nightmares?" I asked bluntly. Lina's eyes took on this far away gaze, and she fixated her expression on something in an imaginary distance.

"The Lord of Nightmares... Initially, I believed that the Lord of Nightmares was simply a Demon Lord higher than Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, and just as exploitable when invoking its power to cast a spell in its name. But after defeating Rezo and his part of Ruby-Eye, a series of events led me to consulting the Clair Bible."

I nodded, following intently. Again, more legendary stuff, and I had a feeling that things were going to get more mind-blowing as they went on.

"Gaav, the Demon Dragon King, wanted me on his side for much the same reason as Dragomir wants you — to fight the Demon King of the North. But I refused, and so I was a threat or something, because Gaav certainly wasn't a friend of Ruby-Eye."

_Mazoku Lords. Perfect._

"For a while I went on fighting his flunkies, their cultist followers, and finally the Demon Dragon King himself. But during the fight, when he was about to finish us all off, Hellmaster Phibrizzo intervened and destroyed Gaav; between Gaav's entrapment in a human soul, and the wounds he sustained fighting with us, he was weak enough to be knocked off at a snap of the little snot's fingers."

"Little snot?"

"Phibrizzo. He just looked like a little kid to us; we didn't know it was him until he let us know."

"Oh." I shuddered. A buried memory like that could easily explain why I never liked babysitting.

"Phibrizzo wanted me to invoke the Lord of Nightmares with the Giga Slave, the spell I used its power for, in order to let it run loose and destroy the Universe with its power. The Mazoku want to see the world destroyed so that everything can return to Chaos. You are familiar with Sea of Chaos, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, and also with how everything originated from it, and how Ceiphied sunk into it after splitting Ruby-Eye into several parts."

Lina paused to smile. "It's refreshing to talk about these things with someone who can meet me halfway."

"You know, I try." Shrugging, I returned the smile. Lina continued without further ado.

"Anyway, the Lord of Nightmares _is_ the Sea of Chaos. So the Sea of Chaos is actually the zenith upon which creation rests. The Mazoku want to push this world back into that void."

"I see." I closed my eyes to digest the material. "... You know," I remarked after a moment of contemplative silence, "this is some seriously heavy stuff. I don't know if I can remember all of this," I added with a frown.

"No kidding," Lina muttered. "It's in the book, more detailed. The truth was that I had inadvertently discovered a way for the Mazoku to accomplish their desire for destruction. And for it, my friends would pay the price."

I watched Lina's expression become pained. Though she portrayed a rough exterior, she seemed to be a genuine person under it all.

_The history books have done Lina no justice. Oh God, now I'm starting to sound like a native.  
_

"Phibrizzo managed to manipulate me into casting the spell. I tried to complete it and fire it off in his stupid face before he could react, but he attacked me when the spell reached its apex — for a moment, I was... gone."

I gawked. "Gone?"

"Ceased to exist."

"How is that... even possible? Especially since you're standing here talking to me? How could you even remember that?"

"I don't know. I don't think I ever will. I just know that I woke up in a scorched battleground, and that Phibrizzo was the one that met with annihilation. From what the others told me, the Lord of Nightmares indwelt my body. Phibrizzo, fearing his own master, attacked the Lord of Nightmares. Its retaliation was swift and overwhelming. After that, the Lord of Nightmares retreated from this world. For one reason or another, I was spared.

"But," Lina concluded, acting as if she was wiping a tear from her eye, "that's a really dumbed down version of all that happened. There's a better history in the book," she said with a motion towards the inert Grimoire.

"Lina..." I spoke through a breaking voice after a silence, "I have so many questions to ask, but I'm not sure you can answer them..."

"Well ask, then! We don't know until you do, right?"

"I guess..."

"So?"

"This resonation thing... what does it mean?"

Lina sighed and looked off to a side, away from me. "That may be my fault..."

I blinked. "And how is that?"

"For invoking the Lord of Nightmares so many times, I think an indelible mark was made on my soul and that of my descendants as a result. I think it's mostly recessive, but you're the first one of my descendants that I've met. I was expecting my oldest daughter to be the first, but... blah. She was a slacker, like her father."

"So what does it _mean_?"

"It means..." Lina crossed her arms over her chest mid-sentence, "... that you can do this.

_"Lords of the Darkness and of the Four Worlds, I call upon you; grant me all the power that you possess!"_

Red, blue, black and white lights shone from Lina's body, and I felt a surge of magical power at her location. From what I was sensing, it _was_ a boosting spell, but.

"Magical amplification? That's impossible! You'd need some high-powered talismans for that!"

"Really?" Lina replied. "You try it."

A lump formed in my throat. Like so many things lately, if this worked, it would only tell me that I knew less about myself than I hoped. But as with many of those things, this was a point of no return.

Cautiously, I took Lina's posture and chanted the same words, making sure to keep the rhythm steady.

_Lords of the Darkness and of the Four Worlds, I call upon you; grant me all the power that you possess!_

The reaction from my body was the same. A light combined of those four colors burst from my collar, hands, and navel, as if there were talismans there. But I knew for certain that there weren't.

"What... does this do, exactly?" I asked. "And _how_ is this happening?"

"Well," Lina chuckled, "don't try it here, but this lets you draw several times more power for a spell than you normally could. If a Dragon Slave could blow a field clean before, this will let you pop the top off a whole damn mountain."

I was in awe. I thought that this boost spell that I had acquired would be enough to turn the tides in a battle. But I suppose 200 years tenderizes the heart of a cold-blooded sorceress, and she bestowed upon me one last gift.

"Because you're one of my daughters, and one who seems to be competent in sorcery after all, I'll deign to you another spell that should help you put away Dragomir for good."

I wasn't about to protest such a generous offer, so I took a few steps back to give Lina room. The aura from the boost spell still surrounding her, Lina took a new stance. Her feet shoulder-width apart, her hands turned inwards and leveled with her eyes, Lina chanted:

_"Lord of Darkness and the Four Worlds, I beseech thy fragments; By all the power you possess, release the bond on the Heavens' wrath, unchain the sword of freezing nothingness; by my hand, with your power, merge our two forces to as one walk on the path of destruction—"_

A threatening incantation, to be sure. The air around Lina seemed to grow chill and dark, and the atmosphere was giving me goosebumps. With a flourish, Lina brought her hands together at the wrists, and she cried the Power Words to forceful end.

_"Ragna Blade!"_

The darkness that had condensed around Lina swirled into her hands like a black wind. As the spell formed in her hands, it crackled with violet electricity; then, a blade of energy so black and empty that it seemed to pull my vision in towards it formed in Lina's grip. It was chaotic, changing shape and fluttering as if on the verge of running loose on its own rampage, and it looked completely unpredictable. But the potency of the spell was obvious; I could tell instantly that a spell of this magnitude could cleave through the very fabric of dimensions if properly aimed. Noting the Chaos Words used, I could tell that its source was none other than the Lord of Nightmares — the ultimate Dark Lord and, from the sound of it, the Creator itself.

"Unreal..." The word fell from my mouth. Given five or eight seconds, the spell fizzled out, and an exhausted Lina dropped to her knees.

"Wow... It's been two centuries since I created that spell... and being dead doesn't make it any easier."

_If Lina could not hold the spell for longer than that,_ I told myself in my head, _then I should be doubly as careful when I cast it._ Lina's comment brought up another curiosity.

"Lina... How is it that you can linger around in our world like this?"

"It's kind of simple, actually, but I want to keep the process a secret. Using that spell drained me bigtime, though, and I'll have to rest for a long time in a few minutes here. Seeing as the process took lots of steps and a hell of a while to complete, I doubt you want me to spend the last minutes of our meeting explaining the process of binding my soul to the book."

"Binding it? So you _kept_ yourself here? That's... unheard of!"

"Yeah, I know," Lina remarked with a grin. "It's how I was able to choose who got to get to my book and who didn't. Those bastards at the Sorcerer's Guild wanted my research for their own exploits. I say they can find out on their own." Lina paused to grin devilishly, but that faded into a sorrowful expression. "Dangerous as my secrets are, I knew that they might be needed some day. Perhaps that day is today... I guess only you can know."

Lina paused to examine me one more time before giving me one more warning. "Obviously, it's in your best interest that you keep the fact that you found this book under wraps."

I nodded, agreeing. "The Guild's always had something against me, anyway."

"... You don't take a hint, do you?"

"Shut up. And where did the others go?"

"The ones that were with you? Oh, they're here. Believe it or not, our entire conversation took place within a microsecond. As soon as you deactivated the seal on the case with your blood, time around you dilated in such a way that light isn't coming in from outside of this 'bubble.'" Lina shrugged as she walked along the length of the pedestal. "So... everything appears as it did 140 years ago, I reckon. It's why you can't see your friends."

"... Including St. Amelia?"

Lina blinked and then guffawed. "St. Amelia! Haha! Now _that_ is a scream."

"No... scream is what nearly _all_ of us did when we saw St. Amelia's preserved body."

Lina snickered again. I rolled my eyes. "No, no... 'St.' Amelia is just very well-preserved with a variant of Rugnaut Rusyavuna."

"_That_ curse!" I shouted, nearly nauseated with the thought.

"It's not nearly as horrific as the curse. For one, she's not alive. For two, she's not in pain, either. And three, it's an advanced white magic spell. It's just used to preserve things is all. It's very useful in palaces like this one where large amounts of perishables, like food, need to be kept fresh for an indeterminable amount of time."

In the face of Lina's overwhelming knowledge of sorcery, I was humbled. Aspiring to my ancestor's heights of accomplishment was going to be extremely difficult.

"Urgh..." Lina clutched at her sides. I bounded over to her side, nearly putting my hands on her before remembering that she was just a spirit.

"My time is up here," Lina coughed. "Take the book and go. And I know it may look like a waste of space, but take the sword, too. You'll understand why when it touches magic... agh!"

"Lina!"

My last cry went unheeded. As soon as she grunted, her image dissipated into the air around. I was alone again.


	17. Chapter XVI: You Can Never Go Back

It had been a few minutes before I realized that I had to get out of the time dilation I was in if I was to continue things. Just because time didn't seem to be moving here didn't mean that time wasn't moving outside of the bubble.

Roughly, I grabbed the Grimoire and the corroding sword. Without rethinking what I was doing, I turned on my heels and headed out in the direction I came in from. At least it was the direction _I think_ I came in from. I was reunited with my friends following a sensation that reminded me of what it was like to come back out from the bottom of a lake after a deep dive. It was so much like that that I felt compelled to draw a deep breath.

"Rina!" they yelled in concert, some louder than others.

"I've got the book! And some crappy looking sword!"

Whilst everyone else looked surprised, Kari looked disappointed. The promise of a shiny new sword seemed far away from him, I'm sure. Phil and Felice looked somewhat distraught, as if something had gone wrong all of a sudden. Emilia was their opposite in mood, looking at the large volume that I held to my chest.

"This is what everyone's after?" she warbled with idling curiosity. I nodded my head, averting a telling look.

"Yeah, this is it. Now let's get out of here, quick!"

Emilia looked puzzled, as did Judas. Kari suddenly looked alert. That was hardly a good thing, and it only put me on edge. We stood there as I watched Kari for several long seconds. At end, he sneezed. I threw the old sword at him in exasperation, though it didn't fly as far as halfway before clattering to his feet.

"Don't _scare_ me like that! SHEESH."

I pushed past Kari as he fumbled apologies and what I suspected would normally be rhetorical questions as to what he was apologizing for. But I didn't want any of it right then; I just wanted to get out of that tomb and as far away from Saillune as possible. My heart beat heavy in my chest, seemingly slower than normal, but I knew that it was just my perception of the world. And it had been altered from that point forth forever.

* * *

Our main objective was to get out of the tomb afterward. In a single file, me in the lead, we clambered out of the trap door hidden in the faux-sarcophagus of St. Amelia. After the last one in the line got out, Phil and Emilio placed the heavy lid back on and slid it shut with reverence and respect. I waited as patiently as I could manage, and not too soon did we set out in the direction we were originally headed in: deeper into the tomb.

"Why are we going deeper? Are we trying to get trapped?" I snapped. Emilio shook his head as he took the lead from me.

"No. The crypt, Miss Rina, should end at a branch of the caves that run under Saillune."

I tilted my head, and I was pretty sure that I wasn't the only one that noticed the inconsistency. "Emilio... err, Your Highness... no one has supposedly been down here in years. How would you know this?"

With a slight smile, faint enough so that I could only barely see it in the dim light, he waved a finger and said, "I read, Miss Rina."

_So I guess he's got a point. I mean, everything that we know about the situation surrounding us is written, so why not take that risk?_

"Alright!" I yelled as I punched the air above me. "Let's hurry up then!"

"She's awfully bright considering our circumstances," Judas mumbled to Kari. My bodyguard, who had picked up the sword I threw at him and now carried its rusted blade against his right shoulder, didn't respond. He only stared distantly at the wall to his left arm's reach as we walked along.

"Phil..." Felicia's voice wafted up from the back as she addressed her husband. I kept my eyes forward, but I eavesdropped on their conversation since I assumed they didn't care about being heard.

"Yes, Felice?" Phil grunted.

"Why are we running?" Her voice was unusually stern. It surprised me to hear the fearsome ogre-king become nervous at that quality of her words.

"I... well..."

"Isn't it our responsibility to care for our people first?"

"Justice demands it, my love!"

"Then why are we turning our back on them?"

Phil made a sound as if he wanted to say something, but then he shrinked away with so much as a defeated groan.

"Because we truly have no allies with the people," Phil sighed. "And if we come out with our story... then it will result in something terrible, I'm certain. People will start taking sides between Dragomir and us, and we will have a civil war before we know it. I... would rather not put our Saillune through that."

"But... that's an excuse, isn't it?" Felice countered easily. She waited for a moment before she repeated it with a raised voice. "_Isn't it?_"

"My apologies, Your Highness," Judas interrupted. "But the King is right. If we go back, there won't be much we can do. It pains me to say this, but Dragomir is much too powerful for all of us combined. He has every piece on the board arranged to his favor: he has the people's trust, the clergy's trust, and power behind his will."

I looked back to see Felice open her mouth to argue, but then she sighed deeply and retreated to Phil's arm. I looked back to the front as Phil comforted her with reassurances that we weren't sure had merit.

Bringing up a point that I had been tossing around in my mind throughout this entire ordeal, I wondered just how a priest could get as powerful as Dragomir. As far as I had studied (and the lore I've studied is _a lot_) never showed me any event of a priest becoming nearly potent enough as to cut the most powerful known spell, Dragon Slave, apart like if it were a mundane light spell. _Especially_ not with a normal staff.

_The staff._

I hadn't thought about it before that point. Dragomir, at every point that I saw him, was carrying that unique crozier. It was like any other staff that a high-orders priest would carry in the Church; a cross adorned the top of a long silver pole, and each end of the staff was set with a differently colored gem representing the four facets of Ceiphied — gods, for all intents and purposes. Saillune's patron god is the Ceiphied. But _oddly_, Dragomir wore nothing that distinguished this most-important fact. Instead he wore all long raiments of white and gold, which I hadn't seen before in my experience.

That gave credence to Phil's story of Dragomir being from across the Demon Sea altogether.

_A stranger with a strange artifact?_ It was possible. With godly relics like the Sword of Light around here, it was possible that other such relics existed in other faraway lands that we simply hadn't heard of before. The prospect was exciting as it was terrifying, for I had no way to know what to expect and therefore no way to fight it.

Then again, there was _one_ well-documented incidence of a Dragon Slave getting carved up by a swordsman. Or swords_woman_, rather. Strangely, she was also an Inverse, but I didn't know if she was related to Lina or not. The name Inverse isn't exactly a common one, so I made note of it and kept it in the back of my mind.

Looking up, my eyes met Emilio's. At first I had thought that he was watching his parents behind me, but at a second glance I knew his subject was not them but _me_.

_Heh. Sorry... but I only date older guys, princey._

"... What?" I said to Emilio, not really expecting an answer. He darted his eyes over my shoulder then back to mine; that's how I could tell he was watching me. His eyes were focused on mine.

"N-nothing!" Emilio's answer was forced by an enclosing wall of suspicion. But I forgot it a moment later.

"Stop. STOP!"

It was Emilia. I whirled around and caught sight of Emilia grabbing her father's tunic and Judas' cape.

"Stop!" she repeated a third time. Emilio halted and upon turning around walked past me to Emilia's general location; it looked like he was whispering to her. Emilia shook her head and looked to Emilio, nearly shouting.

"We have to go back. We can't go any further..."

"What?" I said, almost incredulous. "You do _know_ who is waiting for us back there, right? We'll be walking right into his hands _with_ the loot, and I for one _know_ I can't do that."

"Rina's right," Judas agreed. "Going back to the palace means either suicide or indefinite hiding, and the second is tantamount to the first. I, too, would like to get far enough from this place to prepare for whatever comes next."

Admittedly, the darkened halls of a crypt were foreboding enough to make my heart palpitate with each step forward I took. Like the others, I had no idea what lay ahead... everyone except for Emilia, it would seem.

"I know what I'm saying sounds crazy, but I'm serious!" Emilia shouted, pushing herself from her brother and father's grips. "If we keep going forward, I have a feeling that something terrible will happen to us."

"Something _terrible_ will happen to us and everyone else if we go back and Dragomir one-ups us," I repeated my earlier point.

For the moment, it looked like Emilia was ready to hyperventilate and pass out. But I couldn't help wondering if her panic had some merit to it. Kari was strangely silent, and for Emilia, as cheery as she usually is, this was an uncharacteristically urgent outburst.

"So. What now?"

_"Now, you die."_

_That_ was out of left field. We became silent, the dripping of water in the damp halls the only sound over Emilia's heavied breathing, and Emilia's dark prophecy seemed fulfilled at the disembodied threat. Judas looked ready to meet it; his eyes filled with animalistic rage just as he roared a name in a bellow that shook the arches of the long corridor.

_"SYRIUS!"_

My hair suddenly felt as if it stood on end. My eyes darted to a seemingly mundane stone wall, but someone was there alright. Without any other warning, the wall exploded. Dust and debris blinded me, a few of the smaller pebbles hitting me in the forehead as I was blown back. When the cloud dispersed a bit more, I saw Kari standing fearlessly in the midst of the destruction. Between his gauntlets of steel scale and the cross-guard of the rusted sword I had more or less given him was the quivering blade of the newly revealed assailant. His appearance was a knockover in more ways than one.

Standing at about Judas' height, the man looked more or less _just like him_: his face was gray with dark mottling in various places, particularly around his eyes. His hair was sleek and swept back, shiny as polished steel and as sharp as a bushel of needles. He was clad in white and gold robes and a white cape pinned back on the right shoulder. I could feel a strong magic power emanating from him, and I took advantage of the moment Kari gave me to back away further down the hall.

"So," Kari grunted as he locked blades with the stranger, "you Judas' cousin or something?"

The white-clothed man said nothing and pushed Kari back with a forceful repel. Kari stumbled back, reassuming his position between the attacker and me. I was somewhat worried, given the disparity in arms. The new attacker's sword looked like it was wrought from an orihalcon alloy and infused with a ward of some sort. It smacked of a Magekiller — that is, a sword that was resistant to magic, which was definitely not good for any of us given that his skin looked like it was made of solid rock.

It wasn't ten seconds before Judas came storming from the darkness, charging the attacker with a straight punch that crashed with nothing but air. Recovering himself quickly, Judas aligned himself with Kari.

"Syrius!" he yelled again, "What have you done to yourself!"

A smirk came across Syrius' granite features. "I had once thought the kind of power that you wielded beyond me, Master Judas. But Lord Dragomir... he showed me the way to attain it, the knowledge!" In all his bluster, Syrius raised an unoccupied hand triumphantly.

"We're too late," I heard Emilia tremble from the rear. Maybe I should have known. Emilia's clerical training had perhaps allowed her to be more attuned to the intentions and the environment around her than me. I had to put that regret away for the moment and face up to the obstacle at hand.

_If he's really like Judas... then running will do no good._ Judas meanwhile was about as lost for words as the rest of us were. It looked to me like Judas recognized the properties of the sword like I had; otherwise, I'm pretty sure he would have cast some brutal magic by now. But there was something else in Judas' eyes... something I didn't like.

"If Dragomir knows how to turn you into this... monster... then he knows how to... reverse it?"

My mouth went slightly ajar at that question. _Judas... don't even _think_ about it._

"Well... he _might_." Syrius laughed mockingly. "I don't think it's as easy as that, _Master_ Judas."

What I had expected to be coming finally came down the queue; Syrius eyed me past the wall formed by Judas and Kari, and I too was graced by that loathsome smirk of his. I had never seen Syrius' face outside of bandages or severely burned flesh, so my first time seeing him wasn't much of a shock given my familiarity with Judas. But it was surprising that I would meet someone else like Judas _ever_. I didn't know whether to classify that as luck or utter misfortune.

"It's been a time, Nina!"

"_Rina!_" I yelled back.

"Whatever," he cackled. "It's not like your name is worth remembering!"

"Funny," I retorted bitterly. "You were obsessed with my demise just a few days ago!"

"Oh yes," Syrius replied with a particular sparkle in his eyes.

_... Damn it!_

"Flare Arrow!"

The words, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" were halfway out my throat when I was caught completely off-guard; Syrius' arrows stopped dead in front of Judas and Kari and looped around them, resuming their former course for me. I dove further down into the corridor as the explosions shook the foundations of the ancient crypt. I landed hard and rolled to my feet, ignoring the pain in my shoulders as I planted my heels deeply.

"Hand over the book, ditz, and I might let you go!"

"Over my dead body!"

A chuckle. "As you wish."

I told myself at that instant, _I need to learn to word things better_. He was a chimera now and that much more powerful, but Syrius was still limited to spellcasting like the rest of us were. His chant echoed down the hallway, and I discerned it with enough time to work up a counterspell of my own.

"Fireball!"

I heard Emilia chanting at the same time as me. But my spell was already complete by the time I noticed that, and I sent it on its way without another thought. "Mos Varim!" I shouted, invoking a sphere of white fire. I threw it in the manner one would throw any old fireball, but the effect would be quite different from what pyromaniacs are used to.

"Don't let it through this time!" Kari barked. Judas was unsettlingly silent.

They didn't have to worry about it because as soon as my Mos Varim hit the fireball, the flames of the two swirled together and disappeared into the dark air after a brief but harmless firestorm. If there was only one battle line separating friend from foe in this fight, I would have had no inhibition casting some devastating spells in Syrius' general direction. But that was not the case now; Syrius stood between two parties: the royal family on one side, and Kari, Judas and myself on this one. I honestly couldn't risk a misfire to the royals.

_Argh! Damn moral restraint..._

"Visfarank!" It was Emilia's voice that came across us with the invocation, and I saw two shining globes of light illuminate Emilia's face. But those globes of light were actually auras that had formed around her hands. The pipsqueak then charged in at Syrius' flank with a hand reared back for a punch. I couldn't begin to explain why this was a bad idea in the time given to me, but hell, I tried.

"Emilia, it won't—"

CRACK.

"—work."

"Yeaaaaaaargh!" Emilia shrieked and fell back, holding her hand as the light faded from them. That little trick might have worked on a fleshy opponent, but not on someone like Judas or Syrius.

"Was that _offensive_ White Magic?" Judas mumbled incredulously. Kari was none the smarter as to what was going on, or so I thought. It looked in the earlier stages of the fight like he was just looking for an opportunity to jump into the fray, but witnessing what happened to Emilia must have made him rethink the maneuver; he was now relaxed and not as bent on going forward as he had looked.

"Luckily for you," Syrius gloated, "I was ordered not to harm any of our royal family here." A dark shadow creased Syrius' face. "If it can be helped," he appended.

Being made out of rock, I could think of a few spells that would strike fear into a boulder or two. I shoved through Judas and Kari, extending my hands amidst a quiet chant and unleashing with what must've seemed like frightening spontaniety.

"Dam Brass!"

A red beam shot from my hands and zeroed in on a suddenly less confident Syrius. As if being new to the arts of wielding a long shaft of steel without looking like an idiot, he moved his sword between himself and the incoming spell. It absorbed the energy of that otherwise deadly air invocation.

"Damn!" I cursed. His sword glowed red for a moment then seemed to let out a metallic belch as it consumed the power that controlled the air to create that spell.

"Thankfully, my supplier knew the kind of forces I would be facing," Syrius conceded with a sigh of relief. But it wasn't long before he regained his knack for posturing. "Now that you have seen that even harming me is a meaningless pursuit, will you surrender the stupid book?"

The answer took me some time to consider. Okay, it didn't. "Pfft. _No_."

"Stubborn bitch." Syrius said nothing else as he punched into the stonework beneath him and murmured his spell. I couldn't understand it in time to brace myself for the effects; the flooring began to crack and groan under the weight of the structure, and pieces of the archways began to crumble from above us. Judas stood steadfast unlike the rest of us. I was finally frustrated with his ambivalence and tried to shout out the rumbling in the hallway.

"Don't just stand there slack-jawed, you idiot! Do _something!_"

Judas didn't answer, but I thought I caught an apologetic look through the rising dust.

The ground snapped in two, forming two fissures. One of Kari's feet was where the one nearest to me formed, and he tumbled sideways into the darkness below.

"Uh, ahhh!" he shouted, his voice fading with his descent.

"Kari!" I shouted down into the ravine, but the echo from the vastness below almost made me despair and think that, without a doubt, Kari was really gone. Looking back up, I saw that Felicia and Emilia were no longer with Phil and Emilio. The shaking stopped, but I had no reason to think that the area was any safer now than before Syrius' quake spell. Still, I leapt across the fissure and joined Syrius and Judas, glaring at them both. Syrius backed away from me, which I found comical given the huge advantage he had now. _I guess old wounds do run deep._

Suddenly, Syrius spoke out of line with what was expected. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," he mumbled to himself again. He then shot a look to Emilio and his father.

"Prince?" Syrius called out to Emilio. The prince looked up expectantly.

"Dragomir sends his regards... and his well wishes in the afterlife." Extending his free hand, Syrius let fly an Icicle Lance. An instant too late, Judas shouted a curse and tackled Syrius to the ground. I didn't have the time to throw a spell to counter the lance, and the distance between it and its target was too short to raise a barrier in time. I did what I could and screamed, "MOVE IT!" I only heard the sick squelch of a spear sinking deeply into flesh and bone.

* * *

Some feeling of vengeance carried me on my way to slamming my hands against the wall behind me.

"I'm yours, Syrius!" I shouted. Getting up and leaving a stunned Judas looking back, Syrius turned to me presently, a rueful smile on his face as he took a step forward.

It faded before the next second.

"Dug Haut!"

My invocation wrought gigantic stone spires from the wall behind me, and they shot out like arrows from a giant's quiver in a rapid barrage that raised clouds of dust and threatened to make the rest of the hallway implode on itself. Syrius was struck square by one of them, being driven well through the wall opposite of me. For the moment at least, it looked like his threat was vanquished.

_Absorb _that_ with your dinky sword._

I clutched at the tatters of my mantle and looked over to where Emilio and Phil were.

"Lighting!" I cried, and a sphere of light flickered to life over my hand.

The scene before me was as bad as I had feared. One of the royals was wounded badly, but it wasn't Emilio. The king was clutching onto the edge of the ravine with the last reserves of his considerable strength, which had been sapped by the enormous spike of ice driven through his torso. The gleaming icicle flickered with odd beauty, casting reflections of my light through its bloodied facets. A knot formed in my throat, and I grimaced to see Emilio, tiny in comparison to the king despite being taller than me, holding onto his father's sleeve yet sliding forward with every inch that gravity stole from Phil's grasp.

Ahead of me, Judas suddenly sprang into action, bounding off of one of my Dug Haut spikes and landing beside a pallid Emilio. Grabbing Phil's hand, he strained and yelled as he yanked the monarch up and looped an arm around his shoulders. He moved to remove the lance from the king's chest, but I interrupted as I landed beside them.

"No, don't. If you take it out now, he'll bleed out for sure." Judas saw the sense in that and silently revoked his idea. I looked down to Emilio and extended a hand to him.

"We have to get out of here. It sounds like it's about to give way."

Emilio took my hand. Then we were posed with another problem; continuing on our way. My spell had blocked it off with many large, horizontal columns of stone. Removing them would take an explosive spell; given the soundness of this structure, I figured that was an idiot's solution and sighed.

Judas was looking down into the abyss below. Following his eyes, I raised a finger and flicked it twice towards the ravine; the light I had conjured _zwooped_ down into the darkness, giving form to the pit below and revealing that it in fact had a bottom.

Well, sort of. There was water, and it was still enough to make it appear as though it were a mirror. Emilia and her mother were small specks in the surface of the subterranean lake, clutching to a convenient stalagmite that rose up through the glassy water's surface. Kari was not within my sight, but I assumed he was nearby... unless he didn't know how to swim.

I knew that the king was in a sensitive state, so I cast a spell that would put as little strain on his body as was necessary.

"Raywing."

Judas, the king, Emilio and I were surrounded by a membrane of air. Slowly, I lifted us off the ground and dove us through the open pit into the caves below. I had to be careful because there was little room to maneuver down there. By nature, Raywing was a high-speed flight spell that worked by slipping through the air by creating a whirlwind around you. Because of all the factors that one needed to master in order to be able to control Raywing skillfully, few mages used this spell in spite of its strengths. It may be because it's easy to kill yourself with Raywing; many are the stories of a mage that has turned himself into a bloody smear against a cliffside after being unable to make as sharp a turn as they needed to.

We made it to a small jetty on what would have been further down the hallway if the battle hadn't prevented us from proceeding. After a soft landing, I let Raywing fade away and flicked my fingers towards myself. The globe of light that I had formed followed me back to the jetty. Unlike Raywing, Lighting is a self-sustaining spell. In other words, I didn't need to continually concentrate on it; it would run out when its power faded away, which wasn't for a few hours at the steady glow I created it at.

There was the thrushing of steel and cloth near me. I turned my head to note Kari, drenched as he was and visibly shivering, helping Judas with the wounded king. Emilio still looked stunned as he was when I saw him after Syrius' attack.

"This is my fault," he said.

In addition to how cliché the line was, I wanted to smack Emilio for blaming himself and cheapening the King's decision. Doing that, I thought, was the first step toward despair. Emilio had nothing to do with what happened to Phil. Then again... I had to wonder if there was something he wasn't telling me. He was the target, apparently at random, and he was acting somewhat strange in the moments before the ambush.

A disturbance in the still water alerted me to the approaching women of the royal family. I didn't look towards them, for I was sick with the thought of how they would take Phil's serious injury.

_Tap, tap._ Felice stepped out of the water and was the first to see the sight. She stammered a few times before finally getting to what I was expecting. Her anguished scream was piercing not only to my ears. Despite being more sensitive to sound than any of us, Judas looked unmoved by her frantic outburst, but I could see some sorrow in his eyes. Emilia followed behind Felice, but said nothing as she collapsed, wide-eyed, to her haunches.

"Wh..." It was all Emilia could muster as Felice knelt beside Phil. Amazingly, the king was still conscious in what was doubtlessly agonizing pain. Personally, I was worried at how this might look if it made the national news. Not to mention, there was also the fact that the icicle was melting with every passing second. Once it was gone, so was anything blocking the flow of blood. Phil would die for sure.

"You can heal him, can't you?" Kari asked me. I lowered my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm a sorceress. My healing is weak... it could actually _kill_ him if I used it on a wound like his." I shook my head again, appending my statement. "No. The king needs a priestess... someone who can cast the Resurrection spell."

Resurrection was a spell which was the stuff of legends. Though in fairly common use among the highest tiers of the Church and other clergy, Resurrection was the most powerful healing spell of all. It could even replace lost limbs, and bring the seemingly dead back to perfect, if initially weak, health. Its name is not literal... but it's perhaps the closest thing to raising the dead that there is. No, necromancy does not count, but I believe I've already made my stance on zombies very clear.

"Moving him is going to be a problem," Judas stated lowly. His voice was unsteady, quiet. The streak of guilt marred his posture. Yet he attempted to continue to fulfill his position as a serviceman to the royal family as best he could. A hot anger welled up behind my eyes, and it felt as though I could burn a hole in Judas' chest with my eyes to see how he liked it, see if that would have made him regret not doing anything against Syrius earlier than he had. Truth be told, Judas' reaction to Syrius' tale shook my trust in him. From then on I would sleep with one eye on him; he had a reputation for being ruthless, his motives for even being in Saillune weren't exactly _selfless_, and I wasn't about to believe that that could be changed just because his negligence may cost the king his life.

* * *

By the time we were out of the cave complex, it was pitch black night again. By we, I mean Emilio, Kari and myself. The others stayed behind to tend to Phil, and Emilio, knowing the way around the caves, was our guide back to the surface world. We emerged in a clearing surrounded by woods, and the open dome of midnight blue spotted by tiny luminaries flickering in an unreachable distance greeted us with what felt like a sorrowful heaviness. My own problems seemed to be second place even to me, which was unusual considering how dire they were.

We were silent nearly the entirety of our short journey to the nearest township. Healers were a dime a dozen in Saillune; the trick was finding one that wasn't busy making housecalls. The surest place to find one was in an abbey or convent at night when they were resting, and it seemed like the perfect reason to kick in the door and demand the clergy's help in the matter.

I had one worry with the plan, that being that the clergy was possibly under Dragomir's authoritarian staff. The Church was, in many matters, as secretive as the Sorcerer's Guild, and in those concerning the demons that plagued the darkest corners of our world, the Mazoku, they were completely esoteric.

We quickly came to a village built around an abbey. A holistic building of brown masonry and respectable artisanship, the abbey somehow cut a hopeful figure through a night with a sliver of moon lighting the blackened, deadened landscape. Exhausted as we were, we ran to the gates and banged wildly on the planks. Even though his lungs probably burned as badly as mine, Emilio cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up into the sky.

"Help! Help! My father is mortally wounded!"

There was no response at first, and Kari angled his head back to the door as he bashed it with fearsome force, enough to shake it on its iron hinges but just under the force needed to break them down.

Though it was only seconds between Kari's last summons and the answer at the door, it seemed like an hour had passed. A robed priest, apparently formerly busied with late night prayers, answered the door. He was accompanied by a young nun... someone who I recognized.

"Oh my—" she started, but I cut her off before she finished.

"Gwen! Since when were you a nun!"

The question caused her to look down, and I winced at the late coming possibility that I had brought up the scarring memories from the night that we had parted ways. The priest looked back and forth between us, finally acknowledging us in full.

"Is there a problem, my friends?"

_Naw, we're just making a social call. Unfortunately, we forgot the tea cakes._

"Yes," Emilio spoke without hesitation. "My father is dying... We need one of your best healers." Emilio bowed his head deeply and clasped his hands before him. "Please... I beg of you..."

The priest looked unmoved, but a look of concern slowly creased his gracefully aged features. He looked to Gwen and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Then I believe you want Sister Gwen to go along with you."

"What!" I couldn't help but exclaim. I was surprised. How was I to know that Gwen was their _best_ healer? No... it had to be a mistake... Perhaps most of their healers simply sucked and Gwen, as a new initiate, just so happened to be talented, albeit not talented enough to cast what we needed. I weighed our odds of skipping over and finding another monastery with a more experienced healer. But Emilio cut off my pensiveness and made the decision himself.

"Please hurry then," he beckoned as politely as he could in his haste. "My father cannot hold out long without some aid."

No one seemed to recognize Emilio as the crown prince, not even the priest. Perhaps it was a good thing given the divided emotions regarding the fugitive status of the royal family determined by Dragomir and his tribunal, which I had a feeling was surely a set-up.

After three long minutes of waiting, Gwen was out of the abbey with a wooden staff in one hand and a book of prayers in her other. Wearing the long headdress of the sisterhood, clad in a long dark robe, and swathed in an ample navy mantle, Gwen looked nearly the part of a traveling priestess as she stamped along behind us with an oddly detached determination. She spoke nothing to us, and I didn't ask her of what she had been doing in the weeks since we parted for being afraid of saying the wrong thing again.

_We'll have enough time for catching up_, I thought, _after the King is saved._


	18. Chapter XVII: Are We Ever Going To Eat?

Emilio led a hasty trip back to the field where the opening into the cave was. I was about out of breath by that point, but a sense of urgency drove me forward, as was probably the case with the prince. The cave leading back into the complex was very well-hidden, ensconced in a thicket and mostly covered with the roots of a great oak tree. He was the first to dive into the black pit, a small lighting spell flickering to life in front of him. Gwen followed, then Kari and I brought up the rear. We hung back a little ways in order to rest a bit... and talk.

"So," I said to my swordsman partner, "what do you think Gwen thinks of us?"

Kari shrugged. Well, one shoulder; his other bore the weight of the old sword. "I dunno... Who is she again?"

_D'oh_. I should've seen that one coming.

"Uh, Gwen? From the inn? Demon attack and crap?"

"... The girl? Wait... oh yeah!"

I wasn't sure whether or not to believe that he remembered or not, and I was tempted to drop the subject altogether. Trying to make Kari remember something that had been buried under more base concerns (or legitimate ones) was as futile an effort as making a rock bleed.

"Yes," I spoke, annoyed. "Doesn't it seem a little odd to you that we should end up together again? Here of all places?" Of course, I was aware that it could have been nothing but sheer coincidence that Gwen and I had crossed paths again, especially as close to each other as Lyzeille and Saillune are. But given the events from the beginning being threaded together by a bigger scheme in motion, I couldn't help but think that everything was tied together in some way. Gwen looked somewhat surprised when she saw Kari and me, too, but she seemed extremely dutybound with the assignment the priest had given her. I figured Gwen wasn't from Saillune either. She didn't recognize Emilio, and I knew that royalty for the most part was extremely public.

_Then again, Saillune is more than its capital._

"Well," Kari began. "I've seen lots of people that I met before a few weeks later." He scratched his chin, looking up at the close ceiling of the cave and squinting hard as he strained in thought. "Like... uh... Well, I'm not very good with names, but I remember his face!"

I shook my head lightly. It was somewhat amusing, Kari's cluelessness, but I think I was too drained by that point to even lose my temper anymore. We hadn't been traveling together for more than a few weeks, and yet we'd developed a symbiotic relationship that was the stuff of adventure novels. He was the brute force and I was the brains. He cracked skulls and I blew things up. He watched my back and I made sure he didn't get scammed.

Kari never told me his real name before tonight, incidentally, and I had to wonder if there was some sort of legitimate motivation behind concealing his original, if infamous name.

If the lore was right, he came from a long line of heroes. Remembering that brought back the question of whether or not he was related to me. Again looking at the rusted sword that I retrieved from the tomb, and Kari's natural way of carrying it, I sighed deeply.

_This is the Sword of Light? I thought Gourry lost it. At least that's what Lina said..._

In spite of its obvious imperfections, it seemed that Kari was of the mind that a rusted, barely usable sword was better than no sword at all. He seemed comfortable for the moment, which was good because that meant his heightened instincts (which I still considered uncanny) picked up on nothing unusual. If he wasn't freaking out, I could take a small measure of comfort in the thought that there was, for once, nothing to be worried about.

We walked back to where the rest of our party was, though we did it as fast as we could go while being safe. Cave formations sometimes have hidden pitfalls, fissures and spikes that are by no means unnatural; suchly, they provide enough challenge for an average spelunker, much more an exhausted group of adventurers recovering from the latest lopsided battle with a near-mortality.

Or an actual mortality.

We came upon a grim scene. The lance of ice was little more than a nub in Phil's chest, and there was a lot of blood around the ground where he lay. I saw Gwen pull the hood of her headdress back as she knelt beside the king. Felice and Emilia were on his opposite side in stunned delusion. Emilia's eyes were red from holding back tears, and Felice clutched her disheveled, raven-headed daughter to her chest as she sobbed quietly.

The King was unsettlingly pale, nearly blue in complexion, and barely breathing, _if_ at all. I produced a stronger Lighting spell for Gwen to work by, and she nodded her approval as she began to flip through her metalbound book. I saw its title as the cover flashed in its journey to a facedown position: Vita Magia. I wasn't completely sure as to what the title translated into, but I had heard of the book before. It was apparently _the_ textbook for healers to work from, compiled by none other than the Healing House of Saillune. Among its detailings were spells, salves, and histories of plagues, illnesses, unusual injuries, and how they were treated successfully.

After a moment, I saw Gwen reach over and touch the King on the neck, on the left side. Her hand was steady at first, but then she shifted where she placed her fingers. After a long moment, Gwen fell back on her rear from her kneel, the hand that had touched the king clenched in a tight fist. The hems of her dress were stained with his blood, and she looked to be on the verge of a panic.

"I... I think..." she stammered. "No... I... If only I hadn't taken so long to get ready... I-I'm sorry... so sorry."

I could feel my heart sinking, and I noticed Kari turn away with a hand to his forehead. Felicia rocked forth to move over to Phil's side, brushing matted strands of his black hair aside with a trembling hand. Emilia put her hands against the side of her head and shook it violently.

"No!" she shouted. "This can't be happening!" Her hands slid over her face, her fingers pressing against her forehead. I could see that she was trying very hard to control herself, and she was doing admirably, all things considered.

_I wouldn't judge her if she decided to break down, either._

Emilio was the next person over to Emilia's side. He put his hands on his sister's shoulders, standing behind her. He closed his eyes and was trying to keep some measure of composure over himself, but I could tell that he wanted to break down screaming himself.

I couldn't help but see for myself if some detail, some minute ray of hope, hadn't been overlooked. I dropped next to the king and put my hand against his throat, gently in case it wasn't too late. I caught Felicia looking up at me expectantly, a deep pleading in her eyes that I have some hidden solution to Phil's injury.

"He has stopped breathing," I said evenly. "But I can still feel his life... yes. It's very faint, but you have to try, Gwen."

"Miss Rina?" she replied unsurely, quietly. I looked over my shoulder to address Gwen with my eyes.

"Just Rina. So please try." I grinned to Gwen, meaning to be reassuring, who was very near to tears herself. I figured that she had healed only minor wounds up to this point and she had never been witness to a lost life or its impact before. I was forgetting what had happened at the chapel back in the town that we had first met Gwen in, but the slain priest wasn't her responsibility in that instance.

"Very well," she replied with a low voice. Pulling back the folds of her cloak, Gwen took her position beside the king. She raised her hands over her head, the staff held perpendicular to their rise. Gwen closed her eyes and began a ceremonial and musical chant. Its words echoed in the vast cave with ghostly beauty, an aspect that seemed to heighten the enchantment of the spell.

Gwen's body was sheathed in a mist of white light, Phil's wrapped in a similar glow. This was normal, I thought, and nothing to be concerned about. I was biting my lip, just barely not biting it off in fact. Then, unexpectedly, the veins of minerals in the walls of the cave began to glow. I was startled, for I had felt no change in the magic flow. Everyone else looked equally surprised, but then I noticed something else.

Judas wasn't there.

I immediately thought the worst, but I didn't exclaim about it, fearful of interrupting Gwen at a very critical moment in the spell. The cave became considerably illuminated, even outshining my Lighting spell. Gwen didn't seem to notice it the least, her chant continuing with practiced calm. The effect had started, because I could see the strain on her face; it was flushed and beading with cold humidity. Presently standing behind her, I looked down past her shoulder to the king.

His wounds were closing up.

First, the remains of the icicle lance were pushed out, refused by Phil's body as the tissue that rightfully resided there closed up. Layers of muscle folded over and knitted together in a rapid, surreal crochet. His skin regrew over the wound, and the color seemed to return to Phil's face. A pained groan signaled that there was yet life in Phil's body, and finally his chest heaved in a great breath.

The light around Gwen's body suddenly gathered up in a powerful whirlwind of photons and swirled away like a spring gale, though oddly windless. The cave's walls seemed to sigh as the astral glow subsided from their source, lowering us back into the darkness that we had once stood in before.

Phil groaned again, but he stirred under his own strength. I heard Gwen make a small sound as if a laugh, but then I saw her eyes roll back into her head and her body go limp, her staff clattering to the rocky ground. She began to fall backwards from her kneel, but Kari suddenly appeared beside us and helped me ease her down into a comfortable position. Well, as comfortable as could have been on a damp stone floor.

There was crying again, but it wasn't the bad, despair type of crying. Felicia clung tightly to Phil's shoulders as tears streamed down her cheeks, and their children were soon upon them as one. Emilio was the first to look back towards Gwen, his face contorted as if unable to show his gratitude and feeling guilty for that inability. He noted Gwen's collapsed state and suddenly grew grave. "Is she—"

"Nope," I interrupted quietly. "She's just exhausted and asleep." I looked to the prince and nodded. "It's to be expected after a huge healing spell like that. She'll be fine after some rest."

Emilio clasped his hands over his face, covering his mouth and his nose. He turned away from me and fell back down to his sister's side, bent in a prayer it seemed. It was then that I felt a hand fall on my partially exposed back. It was Kari's, who stood behind me as he approvingly looked on to the family spectacle.

"You did good, Rina," he said with a warm voice. "You're a very kind person."

I hummed to myself. Those were words that I wouldn't describe myself with, much less expected from another person. I did what I would normally do and egged on someone to at least _try_ before they admitted failure.

"I didn't do anything, Kari..."

Kari chuckled and shook his head. "It looked to me like you encouraged Gwen to, you know, give it a shot anyway. If you didn't make her try... who knows."

Perhaps it was that I didn't want to acknowledge that I was a kind person. Then again, I may have taken that comment a little more easily from someone other than Kari. At some point between meeting Gwen and getting to Saillune, I felt myself to be indebted to Kari for many things. Such feelings were alien to me, and and I hate being in debt to others. I am a greedy person; once I get something I value, I will never let it go. And be it money, praise, or even love, I feared its loss. But I knew in my ever-realistic mind that everything must be lost at some point or another, which is why I in particular feared attachments to other people and traveled _alone_. When I told Gwen to give it a try anyway, I was making it up completely. I actually felt nothing in the king; part of me didn't want to believe it, either. But one thing I hate is seeing people give up without a fight, and if Gwen was so good a healer as to be suggested by a priest of Saillune over even himself, I wanted her to give it a shot. We averted losing the king that day.

Seeing the royal family huddled together like that, grateful that they were all still together, made me wonder about what I had to lose from all this.

I understood, then, what the dark shadow in that dream was. It was Shabranigdu, the Demon King of the North. If Dragomir succeeded and released the Dark Lord, and he failed to defeat him? My home, my family — they would all be engulfed by that _shadow_.

_No one would be spared_.

I looked at Kari, wondering if he understood the gravity of the situation. It struck me that I needed him. That realization shocked me, but as I tossed it in my mind a few times, I came to accept the fact that he and I were attached in some way by this twisted scheme that Dragomir had woven. If it wasn't for Kari, I would have died twice by now, and not because I was reckless either. Family or not, we had to stick together if we were going to see things through, and that no longer disturbed me.

Since he didn't abandon me, I wouldn't abandon Kari. It would look bad on me, and I'm sure I would feel even worse inside.

* * *

As soon as the king could manage to walk on his own, we relocated as a group to another chamber in the massive cave complex. Satisfied with the ensconced location that almost resembled what I imagined to be a room in a dwarven inn, I fired up a torch-like Lighting spell and bade it hover in a corner in the far side of the enclosure.

Phil settled down from his shaky legs and reclined against the wall. His kids and wife tucked themselves against him and the four of them drifted easily off to sleep. Before the king closed his eyes to rest, he gave me a gracious gesture, his dark eyes filled with contentment at being with his family unbroken. He must have realized how close he was to death... but that must not have been his main concern. It was left up to my speculation, because I restrained myself from asking questions and instead let him to sleep.

I was tired as hell by the time we entered the cave, and the next thing on my mind was — before even food — sleep. I dropped against the wall of the cave and the floor, reclining as Phil had done. The King was wordless for the time, his only betraying expression being one of relief. I can easily reimagine what had happened at the end of the fight with Syrius.

After launching the Icicle Lance, Phil discerned that the intended target was Emilio. As random and reluctant as it seemed, Syrius seemed to act on orders, so it was definitely premeditated in some way. When Phil realized that his son was in danger, he did what all parents would do — protect their young. The King, in an act of complete disregard for his personal safety or concern for the crown, did all he could in the time given to him to protect his son.

Then again, pacifism only goes so far. I feared the kind of retribution the king might have in mind once he regains his full strength. I feared it in particular because I wasn't sure that, as powerful as his conviction was, he would have the power to carry it out.

Judas apparently left Emilia and Felice with the king with a message:

_Don't come looking for me; I will find you._

I could imagine one of two things that meant. One was that he was selling us out and wanted us to stay put while he went to Dragomir and squawked our location for a cure that Dragomir might not even be able to provide. Two was that he thought of something and deemed it important enough to run off on his own.

Unfortunately, Judas' absence left us severely underpowered. His shamanic magic was an excellent complement to my black magic, and he was nearly Kari's match in swordsmanship. Being that he was also the most resilient among us, Judas was quite important to our future progress against the forces that pursued us. But seriously, I didn't take kindly to his sudden departure. He couldn't have waited for us to return with Gwen before he left?

Kari entered the cave with Gwen in his arms. After placing her down beside me, he settled on my opposite side and ruffled my hair with a broad hand. I closed my eyes and took the sensation as a pleasant one, though the gesture itself felt patronizing. _I'll let him slide this once,_ I thought.

"I'll keep watch," Kari spoke without apprehension. I cracked my eyes open just a bit and glanced up at him.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Oh yeah!" Kari chuckled, "Dead tired. But someone's gotta keep watch..."

He was right, though I wasn't going to make anyone keep watch tonight. I figured that we were safe enough in the maze that Emilio had led us through, and that it was thus Judas who was in any danger at all. I was somewhat concerned for the guy, but he was being awfully shifty. He wasn't straightforward enough with some things, and maybe — just _maybe_ — that was why people didn't trust him easily, if at all. _And he wonders why people are leery of him_.

"Keep watch if you want, Kar," I murmured, half-asleep, "but I don't think it's necessary. Emilio has us pretty well hidden down here."

Kari seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, nodding his agreement.

"That may be true," he said thoughtfully. "But what if there are goblins down here?"

Mostly out of choice, I didn't give the idea entertainment. I slept fitfully for the rest of that night.

* * *

It was either the deep rumble of the King's snoring or the palpitating bursts of pain in my middle back that woke me up.

Caves have this reputation for being able to carry sound well. From this far within the complex, I could hear the sound of songbirds in the area outside. After the King was healed, Emilio led us to a small system of channels close to the cave's exit. It was determined then that if nothing else went wrong, we would strike out for Dils in the afternoon. Kari and I would have the pleasure of escorting Gwen back to her abbey, as it was too risky for any one of the royals to be seen. We did not think much of Judas' absence then, but it weighed on my mind after I got up and paced around a bit.

I still could not trust Judas. For all the help he gave us, wasn't it his ultimate goal to obtain a cure? And knowing him as I did, I assumed that 'any means necessary' was a mantra that didn't bother him in the least. Given that he had nothing to lose, Judas could be particularly dangerous when faced with an obstacle. About the only thing I could imagine would keep him from forging an alliance with Dragomir and Syrius was the fact that he had a loathing of both. Dragomir he could view as a disruptor in his research that he had employed himself under the royal family in order to do. Syrius was an out-and-out traitor. But Syrius also held an alluring proposition for Judas, and I knew he wasn't above temporarily working with enemies if it furthered his own interests. I wondered then, _Is Judas the kind of person that would turncoat so quickly?_

And that brought the thought of the moment down to my apparel. I looked like I had fallen off the top of the fashion tree, though I had heard that the 'rough and frumpy' look was making waves in some of the trendier cities on the coast. Half of my right pantleg was missing entirely, my blouse was torn at my right shoulder, and my cape was reminiscent of what the dragon coughs up after eating a bold, would-be slayer.

The Grimoire was concealed within a pocket of my cloak. An enchantment on the cape — not my own, to be sure — made it so that the cape could be loaded fully with the contents of a large sack. There was a pocket on the inside of the mantle, and the fact that I was carrying anything would not be evident to onlookers. However, I could still feel the weight of whatever I was carrying, and if something didn't fit fully into the pocket (say, a longsword), the enchantment would fail to work.

I was tempted to pull out the Grimoire and thumb through one of its many pages of accumulated knowledge, but I had a small apprehension that the book perhaps left a trace of magical energy which could be picked up on by experienced magical trackers. I assumed that Syrius' new state also gave him enhanced magical senses that attuned him to such things, and Dragomir for sure wouldn't be a slacker in divination. After all, whatever Lina used to bind her soul to the book must have been a pinnacle of her research. In a way, she could be the first person who has ever achieved real immortality, though it's not exactly how most would have thought. It's a given in sorcery that in order to control something, you must understand it. Therefore, Lina must have understood the nature of the soul and life itself, and she thus gained ultimate authority over her own destiny.

Truly the stuff of legends. Like my hunger.

In the same pocket the Grimoire resided in, so did a few damp trail rations. I looked around the cave at my slumbersome party, including Kari, who finally fell asleep sometime during his dilligent watch. A long line of drool hung from his mouth to the cave floor beneath him — impressive when you note that he was sleeping upright. Feeling only somewhat guilty for eating ahead of the others, I quickly reconciled my snack with the fact that I had prepared ahead of time for such a situation.

I removed the jerky from my pocket, and I undid the brown paper that wrapped it. The salty smell wafted up to my nostrils and made me salivate almost instantly. I opened my mouth to devour it and...

_Click._

I prepared to defend myself, but the others had awakened without me noticing and buried me in an attempt to get at whatever food I had.

* * *

After the feeding frenzy was resolved by the beef strip falling into a crevasse, we struck out on our journey in earnest. Gwen was the only person in the group that didn't make a violent lunge for my breakfast, so she was the only one I wasn't upset with at the time. Keeping my head low and my eyes narrowed, I shunned the rest until they finally left Gwen and me marching solemnly ahead of the party.

"Never thought we'd see you again," I casually asided to Gwen. Still wearing her clerical vestments and the serious look she had all through the night, Gwen stared ahead, pensively agreeing with me.

"I didn't think I'd see you again, either." Her voice was light as chiffon, but I noticed a hidden edge in Gwen's tone under its gentility. "Although I must say that I could have done without crossing your path again."

I zonked at that, but to be fair, I did kind of drag her into my affairs.

"After what happened at the chapel, I found myself unable to face the locals. He was well-liked in that town, and I was the only one found there by the constables."

Gwen's voice cracked, and it wasn't long before I realized that she was trying to keep her composure. A tear had managed to slip out of her left eye.

"I... was _accused_ of being partially responsible for his death! Either I did it or I didn't prevent it from happening, but I am never innocent." Angrily, Gwen dabbed the tear away, saying, "So I left. This village is where I spent my childhood. It only made sense that I would return to where I was accepted."

I thought about how I could speak to Gwen without getting her hacked off at me. After a minute of letting what she just had told me settle down, I folded my arms and decided to give her some good ol' fashioned encouragement.

"How did you learn to heal like that so fast?" I asked, genuinely curious as to how someone could just pick up on something like Resurrection in between the two weeks we hadn't seen each other.

"I've already had my training," she said lowly. "I went abroad to study, though."

"Hey, if being a cleric's what you're wanting to do, you're doing a hell of a job already." I winked, but Gwen didn't look aside to me as I spoke. She clearly put some of the blame for her hardship on me, which was fair but still burned me up inside. I didn't exactly _plot_ to make Gwen's life miserable.

"Well, if you don't want to see me again, that's fine. I don't care. What I _do_ care about is that you helped Emilio's father there, so you have my thanks."

Gwen was silent. We eventually came to the village that we had taken Gwen from. Kari beckoned to me as the royal family stayed off further down the road, hidden in a thicket while he and I walked Gwen back up to the abbey. Before we did take off, the twins ran up to us and caught Gwen by the shoulder, both offering deep bows.

"Thank you very much for saving my father," Emilio offered. His sister followed up with a more resigned voice. "I wish we could offer more than our thanks," Emilia said. Gwen's face was still lined with a certain sadness, but a small smile cracked her frown as she patted them both on the shoulder.

"You're welcome," she replied. Awkwardly she recited the temple blessing and waved her hand toward them. "Go in peace." I wondered to myself if Gwen knew she was addressing the royal family, but I didn't bring it up for the obvious risks it provoked.

Gwen's village was the definition of a milling town. A series of hills on the north were crested with huge windmills, their enormous fans making deep _whoosh_es as they rotated in the vernal breeze. A tiny marketplace presented the opportunity to buy fresh produce and river fish. I noted to myself at that moment to be sure and pick some up on the way back for a late brunch. The villagers were the typical rural peasantry you'd find in just about any kingdom in the region. Their earth colored clothes matched the rural surroundings that they lived off of. Everything about the village was normal.

Except for the atmosphere of dread that seemed to hang around the region. For certain, these Saillunians weren't ignorant of what was going on in the capital, and the gates being sealed must have had an impact on their livelihoods. It wasn't normal, for example, that you'd see loads of unmilled grain in idle, unhorsed carts sitting unattended at a mill. _Since the city was sealed,_ I thought, _they must have stopped making flour to send to the city._ And it made sense; if they milled so much flour that it couldn't be stored, it would go to waste.

We were traipsing a gravel road framed by two fields of grazing land for the sheep when Gwen stopped abruptly. Her staff's butt hit the ground and she looked up from the road.

"Something... is off." She droned eerily, as if she wasn't in her normal mind at the present. Kari and I exchanged wary looks, and we immediately scanned the area for any unwanted attention. I came up empty, and from Kari's expression, I assumed he did as well.

"There's no one around," I stated lowly as I turned a concerned glance to Gwen. But she shook her head.

"It's not here. It's at the abbey..."

_Groan_. Another meal plan was interrupted as I readied my spellcaster's mind. Kari's knuckles whitened as his hands grasped the old leather of his sword. Forming a wall in front of Gwen, we marched up to the abbey. I had the pleasure of knocking on the door.

_Knock knock._

The sound of a wooden beam being moved came after a minute of waiting. As the door creaked open, another nun greeted us at the door. Brunette, rosy-cheeked and not much older than Gwen, her smile faded as soon as she set her sight on me. I can't decide which was worse: the heavy silence that followed the greeting or the fact that her color drained away upon apparently recognizing me.

"Sister Isolde?" Gwen murmured with concern, "Is something wrong?"

The nun, now known as Isolde, looked back to me after addressing Gwen.

"Is that... is that the Black Sorceress, Rina Erris?"

_Aha. So my reputation precedes me, does it?_

"N-no!" I blurted. "I-I..." _Smile_. "I'm an actress _pretending_ to be Rina Erris!"

Isolde didn't look like she bought the story. "An actor doesn't stay in-character off the stage," she challenged. "You're clearly lying."

"Wuh—pfft! You obviously don't know much about _le theatre_!" I responded haughtily. "A good actress — nay, a _brilliant_ actress — must not simply learn her character. She must _be_ her character. By living _as_ Rina Erris, I _become_ Rina Erris, and it is by that that I am a rising star on stages across the northern range!"

"So," Isolde murmured, "you're no better than her anyway, right?"

_D'oh! GRRR._

Her look of doubt was replaced by one of almost begrudging acceptance. Then again, I knew how these people thought. The reality that they liked was the one that was most likely to be accepted. Give a convincing enough story, and it will become the truth. And even if it doesn't, it serves as one hell of a stalling point while I make a frantic getaway. Turning tail and running like a cat with a string tied to its tail would have given me away by that point, so I had to stare down the serpent.

"It's fine, Sister Isolde," Gwen spoke up, giving me a half-disapproving look as she stepped up into the abbey. "She is nobody," she mentioned casually, a particularly acrid tone in her voice. "Let her go. We are late to prepare lunch."

And the abbey's doors shut. What a way to part ways with Gwen. She definitely had something against me; doubtlessly all the libel of the newspapers had built up my crimes to some grotesquely bloated example of immorality. Everyone knows deep down inside that the media is biased against the true heroes of the world; they write whatever crap they want as long as it sells papers. But as soon as someone is taken in by the professional language and the sensational tapestry of truths interspersed with opinions-made-fact at critical points, that innate distrust fades. The omittance of certain facts, like how I _always_ target bandits, brigands and other lowlifes, is, as Philionel himself would say, "A GROSS INJUSTICE TO A TRUE CRUSADER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS."

_Okay. 'Crusader of Righteousness' might be overdoing it a bit for me._

Needless to say, I thought it was unnecessary to be a total you-know-what. She had her problems and I had mine, but I didn't go off on _her_ now, did I? I was obviously too merciful, which I made a note at that moment to immediately remand. I would punch the next person that personally offended me, and I would restore my reputation of being a fearsome individual that shouldn't be taken lightly!

"Hey, let's get some fish," Kari whispered to me, his voice enthralled. I smiled and nodded as we turned back down the road.

"That's one of your brighter ideas," I laughed as I nudged him in the side.

The ground shook. Then the abbey, not more than twenty feet behind us, exploded with an immensity that shattered the whole building.

_SKREEEEEEEEE!_

"That sounds like a—"

_**SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!**_

Kari was drowned out by the deafening, screeching roar, which came twice. My head ringing from the unreasonable timbres, I knew without looking what was standing where the abbey had once been.

A dragon. Fully grown. And elemental.

_A plasma dragon._


	19. Chapter XVIII: Shock And Flaw

If the dragon that had appeared where the abbey once stood just wanted some attention, it had it; fully and undivided, and that of the whole village. I could only take my eyes off the gigantic living lightning bolt for a moment to look back to the rest of the village. There I saw the definitive scene of wildfire panic. The working men, in a tremendous show of mob bravado, ran out of the various dwellings and laborhouses wielding farming implements as though they were threatening weaponry. The women and children were nowhere in sight.

_Except for me, if you want to consider me a "child." Woman... well, _yeah.

In the same split-second I took to look back, I glanced towards Kari to gauge his reaction to the sudden upheaval of order. His sage eyes burned beneath creased brows, apparently trying to make an idea of how to fight this new foe. Judging from his expression, he had never heard of nor seen a plasma dragon before. I couldn't blame him for his awe; I hadn't ever seen one myself either. Very rarely do these electrical dragons show themselves. Usually they are the summoned product of conniving wizards, hapless sorcerers, adept megalomaniacs, or bored but ill-fated ne'er do-wells.

"What the heck?" Kari sputtered, glancing down at his unimpressive weapon in disbelief. "How am I going to stab it?"

Kari, who was holding what was more a lightning rod than an actual sword, practically begged to be hit first; fortunately for the both of us, my background in sorcery lent me a practical wad of knowledge on creatures such as elementals, so we weren't completely screwed.

Still, it didn't look promising.

"You're not, Kari!" I shouted. "You're gonna have to do as I say, alright?"

The plasma dragon turned its ever-shifting red-eyed gaze on the two of us.

"I'm not kidding! No hero stuff!"

My mind didn't have the time to work out just what had caused this dragon to appear here at just the right moment. As I sprang off to the right and Kari to the left — instinctive evasive actions to dodge the incoming lightning bolt — images of Dragomir's taunting form appeared in my mind. I could almost picture Syrius right there along with him laughing down at me. The distracting imagining of Judas standing with them almost cost me dearly, a shining streak barely missing me as it turned an unfortunate tree to splinters way off to my side.

"Rina, give me something to do!" Kari begged.

"Shut up! And don't attack it, either! I'm thinking..."

To say that I wasn't was untruth, but my mind wasn't entirely on the fight. All the answers weren't necessarily at my fingertips, either. The dragon moved extremely quickly, and like all elementals barring earthen ones it was unhindered by inconvenient things like gravity and space. I chanted furiously, but I could never manage to complete a spell before I was under pressure again. None of my short-lipped spells would even tickle the elemental, much less send it back to whence it came.

Eventually, I was going to mess up.

I tripped on one of the bricks that used to belong to the abbey. Twisting in midair, I landed on my back, but no sooner did I get there than I was jerking aside to dodge another blow from the creature.

"**Rina!**" Kari grew desperate with my near-misses and apparent inaction. Without another word, excepting a battle cry that broke over the constant humming of the charged air, Karius huffed the rusted sword towards the beast. The blade whirled loudly and with such force that it inspired awe in the apprehensive crowd that had gathered a fair distance down the road.

_He seriously threw it as though it were a dagger!_

_BRRRZZZT!_ Sparks and tiny electrical bolts flew outward from where the sword struck home. But instead of passing through the immaterial enemy, the sword seemed to catch on its shining body the same way a briar would attach itself to your shirt.

The sword hung in a levitation betwixt the electrical serpent's coils, spinning violently and unpredictably. The sharp sounds of living lightning intensified for just a moment before the sword was flung violently down the road. I ducked beneath the sword's flight path a mere instant before its glowing blade skipped buzzed past, off the ground just behind me and over the rooftops of the houses. Villagers dove for cover after the fact, but they had a new reason to do it again when the buildings themselves began to come apart at odd angles.

_As if they had been sliced._

"Oh my God," I gaped at the damage apparently caused by the alleged sword of legend. A deep gash, much farther into the earth than I was tall, smoked from where the blade had bounced off. The sword itself was no longer within sight, but all evidence of its passing lay scattered around in neatly sliced sections. The dragon itself seemed severely harmed and weakened by the sword's touch. I then remembered what Lina had said about the sword.

_Let it touch magic_, she said. Then it would reveal its true colors. Of course, now it was gone, and just our luck. Kari was unarmed and useful for little more than a distraction. But following his gaze, I saw he was casing the ruins of the abbey. As much as was left of its skeletal wooden frame, the prospects for survivors did not look promising. The abbey was almost a small castle unto itself, and now it had been razed to a pile of rubble the size of a townhouse.

The dragon let out a metallic scream as it regrouped itself for a counterattack. I wasn't sure if elementals possessed emotions, but the fury in the plasma dragon's movements was convincing enough to consider it. It took its time, and I took the opportunity that provided me; I wove a spell I knew was sure to destroy any elemental.

_Ye who sleeps in the earthen depths! Dynast, Lord with the Heart of Ice — with your dark blessing, defeat the enemy that stands before me!_

I stuck out the palm of my hand before me as I yelled the last words in the incantation. Lightning crashed down from a cloudless sky, and by those lightning bolts a glowing pentagram carved itself out of the earth beneath the dragon's location. The dragon seemed to strain in movement, but it looked trapped. I grinned behind barely parted lips, a sneer forming on them.

_Let's see how he likes his own medicine,_ I muttered mentally.

"Dynast Brass!"

The pentagram seemed to collapse on itself as all the lightning of the Dark Lord Dynast's own power smashed into the dragon. Again came its metallic scream, and amidst the wild energy that flew around us, Kari dove forward past its location and into the ruins of the abbey. I asserted that I would follow... as soon as I knew the dragon was dead.

The lightning from my spell subsided after a minute, but the dragon was still there. Much to my exasperation, it was quick to recover. Though it didn't go on the offensive immediately, it still posed an immediate threat to us puny humans. It seemed to bide its time, eyeing me in particular as a substantial threat. Kari took note of the creature and treaded the abbey's grounds carefully.

Eyeing the dragon hatefully, I clawed my hands and put my feet at shoulder-width. The next incantation began to roll off my tongue, and I hoped this was the last spell I would need to cast before the beast was doomed.

_Gah! How annoying... That should have worked on its own!_

_"Ye who sleeps in the earthen depths!"_ I called out once again, nothing unusual about the procedure. But that is as far as I got with that incantation — the dragon, recognizing the act of spellcasting, lunged at me as soon as I opened a channel of energy on the Astral Plane. My breath quickened for a moment because I figured out what it was doing; it was traveling along the energy line to deliver a fatal surge to me. I frantically cut off my connection to the spell just as the ground exploded around me.

Dirt piled its way into my eyes, my nostrils, my mouth. I coughed forcefully, trying to make sure that I could breathe, the grit of the soil in my mouth unpleasant as I clenched my teeth. Emilia's voice suddenly rang out over the cacophony as I struggled to rub the dirt from my eyes. Focusing again my ability to discern events on the Astral Plane, I could tell that Emilia was channeling a protective spell. The area around me didn't exactly seem normal; I didn't have to think twice about what that meant.

It then happened.

My awareness hit a power that overwhelmed. _Everything_.

I opened my eyes as the final steely screech of the dragon subsided into the depths of destruction. Before the dissipating remnants of what was the plasma dragon stood a young raven-haired man clad in white robes, arms outstretched to where the dragon's maw had been, a thrumming sword with a bright blade of violet energy firmly set in his two hands.

I settled my weight back on my hands, my lower back popping as I let a breath out. Our latest battle was over just in time.

"Emilio!" I sputtered, wiping dirt from my mouth. "That sword..."

"Haa," my charge sighed as he turned around, lowering the still-glowing blade. "It came streaking at us out of nowhere," he shrugged, referring to the sword. "Emilia thought you two were in trouble and ran ahead of me. So... I followed. And here we are."

I smiled weakly. Then I jumped at something I saw.

"Hm?" Emilio tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

I held my breath for another second.

"Whew," I sighed in relief. "I just thought your shadow was another dragon."

"... Ah."

Emilio didn't say anything more.

* * *

I bit back what pains I felt for the moment to get with Kari's program. With his bare hands, Kari lifted rocks as broad as his chest over his head and tossed them over what used to be the front wall of the building. His movements reflected a focused determination, and though I was exhausted I began to help with my sorcery.

Laying hands on a particularly large pile of broken masonry, I chanted quietly. When the glow of energy satisfied me to the spell's completion, I spoke softly.

"Bephis Bring." The broken stone, which was obviously once a part of the earth, all disappeared in connected sections to what-place-nobody-knows. Beneath that pile was a bloodied woman I recognized as Isolde. She groaned softly as the air touched her face, and I looked her over to make sure that cuts were the worst of her injuries before moving her.

That she survived at all was miraculous. _She must have had someone protecting her,_ I thought.

Emilia chose good timing to come up on me. "Miss Rina—"

"Look, Emilia!" I shouted. "She's alive." I stood up and nodded down to injured cleric. "Her name's Isolde. You're better at treating people than I am," I said quickly, "so you take over for me here."

_I don't wanna be on the bad end of a lawsuit, after all._

"Okay!" Emilia replied with her usual vim and vigor, which was a relief to me as well after the night's harrowing ordeal. I noticed Emilio looking more than a bit numb, however. He was sitting down on a boulder exposed by the explosions from the recent battle, repeatedly knitting his hands as if he were washing them in a basin. I moved my jaw idly as I began to ponder his sanity; his sudden aloofness had me confused, though in retrospect it wasn't so sudden. The subject would have to wait.

Fragmented blocks shifted in a pile far too large to have been the doing of a trapped human beneath it. I couldn't help but ready a fireball; one more word and I would have brought a beautiful sphere of glowing explosive light into existence.

The pile suddenly shifted again; Kari made an advance on it, but then it spoke to us.

"Stand back!"

"Judas?" I spat aloud.

The grinding crunch of stone being broken apart resounded in concert with the sight of Judas' fist punchig out of the mountain of rubble. His hand came down hard on the outside of the pile and caused a whole portion of the debris to fall away in a sheet.

"I'm going to cast Dug Haut!" he warned to whomever was listening. "Stand back!" he repeated.

He mumbled the incantation below the reckoning of any non-elf's hearing. Silence reigned as the air seemed to catch, and then the mound of stone blasted away as spires of rock drove them apart. The remaining layer was light enough for Judas to burst with his arms. He desperately drew a deep breath; his other arm dragged Gwen out of the dark like a rag doll.

"Be careful!" I yelled out of Gwen's regard. Judas shot me a glare as he stumbled out of the rocks.

"I didn't get myself buried just to kill this girl with carelessness," he hissed sourly. Being buried alive wouldn't put me in a good mood either. Even then, I was too busy being relieved that Gwen was also alive to notice that my fireball faded away.

* * *

Perhaps it was irresponsible to demand a bath being where we were and in the situation we faced, but I couldn't concentrate after a certain point of filthiness. I also had to clean my cuts to prevent infection — healing spells could actually make those worse. I know people who have lost limbs because they accelerated an infection with careless healing.

We took out a room at the only inn the village had. It suffered much less damage than the line of houses that were closest to the abbey road, so those whose homes were wrecked beyond immediate repair were also staying at the inn. Since we "defended the village from absolute destruction," the innkeeper graciously waived the fee without my asking (which was as miraculous as Isolde's survival).

After I was done with my most necessary task, I threw myself on the bed. I grabbed anxiously at the pillow after I laid facefirst in it for a few minutes.

_This is reckless,_ I thought. _We're practically under Dragomir's nose._ But the softness of the bed was too alluring for me to leave it then. It was somewhat lumpy and damp, but I wasn't up for being picky. Any mattress was fine with me at that point, having slept only on damp stone and cave floors the last couple of nights.

The others seemed unbothered by the idea of staying at the inn, so I raised no protest. Phil and Felice held council with the village elder or whomever was in charge here to explain what was going on back in Saillune City. It appeared from the look on the elder's face that this was the first of any sort of news they had had regarding the lockdown of the capital. After that he assured them, "You will be safe here." I don't have to tell you why I found the claim dubious; it only took a glance up the abbey road.

Nevertheless, they had turned in for the night. Emilia was my bunkmate, but she was tending to 'Sisters' Isolde and Gwen. Isolde still wasn't awake, but Emilia said that all her signs were normal. Gwen was practically unharmed, though she was also unconscious for an hour after the explosion.

Of everyone else, Judas had the most explaining to do.

* * *

"I suppose you don't have a good reason to trust me."

"Hmf. I'm not going to broil you too hard this time, Jude, but I am going to ask you to tell me right now where your loyalties lie."

"Rina..."

I joined Judas on the rooftop of the inn by climbing out my room's window and up the angled roof. Overhead was a vast canopy of stars; any sign of the city was not to be found. The outlet of the catacomb apparently ran further from Saillune City than I expected. I hadn't looked on a map to see just where this town was, but if my geography remained true, the Blackwood Forest that occupied most of the land between Saillune and Dils sat before a craggy horizon to the north. The partial moon glowed a hazy red on the east horizon, and nothing else was visible to the west or south because of the high hills.

"... I didn't want this power. I didn't ask for it." Judas' voice was no different from usual, but I could sense the tension in his voice. The look in his eyes and the posture of his body betrayed to me an internal struggle between the Want and the Right. He was trying to twist the two into something sensible, but he continued to stumble over fragments of words. I intervened after a minute.

"Judas," I started, using his full name. "I," speaking as I placed a hand to my chest, "am human."

"Bah." Judas folded his arms and pulled his cloak tighter around himself. "You don't have to brag about it."

"I'm serious!" I yelled, somewhat angered by Judas' sarcasm. "But I'm not human because I have soft flesh, or soft hair, or rounded ears! I'm human because... well... I just am! And so are you!"

Judas seemed to scorn me. But me being me, I just kept talking.

"I know you think you're some sort of monster, but you've been led to believe that because of what _other_ people have told you. I mean, heh, if I believed all the things people said about me, I'd probably think I was a Mazoku, too!" I smiled bitterly, then put the humor aside for a moment. "You're obviously angry because of what happened to you, and I would be too, anyone would. But the fact that you still give enough of a crap to at least try and solve your problem, to adapt to it instead of laying down and dying... that's a _human spirit_."

"Hmf," Judas snorted. "You sound like my mother."

"Smart woman," I retorted. "Gods help you, all of them, if you think that this thing with Dragomir is easy for me. If you don't remember, I was dragged into this melodrama for one reason or another. I have had a LOT to digest in the past two days, much more than I ever had to back at the Sorcerer's Guild as a sorceress-in-training. But unlike classes, I can't dodge this one. I have to face it, lest I see all I care about get blown to bits by Dragomir's psychotic plans gone awry.

"... I'm going to warn you, Judas. You have friends in the royal family. You may be kind of a downer to be around, but I like you more than not. If you betray them — and me — you'll be no better than Syrius. And I..." I swallowed hard. "I'll treat you the same way."

When Judas didn't answer with anything more than an empty sough, I got up.

"Levitation!"

My feet rose from the roof and I guided myself back to my room's window. I looked back at Judas solemnly.

"Don't throw your humanity away like Syrius did, Judas!" I then threw myself back into my room and moved to shut the window. I was able to catch Judas' response, which was surprisingly pasé though definitely up Judas' alley.

"... You're such a drama queen."

* * *

Emilia came in as I was locking the window, muttering something under my breath.

"Who... are you calling a numb-minded jerkish... uh..." Emilia didn't finish the sentence, instead twistin her lips anxiously in place of the colorful pronoun I used.

"No one," I said as I turned and smiled sweetly, right hand drawing the curtains shut. My gaze gravitated to the large sack she had with her. "What's in the bag?"

"Oh yeah," she muttered. While she held the bag, she dove one hand into its black depths and clumsily drew forth a bundle of dark cloth bound tightly with hempen strings.

"I bought these for you at the tailor in town. I hope they fit."

I tilted my head, taking the bundle from Emilia's hands. It was surprisingly light and airy for the mass it presented; the black cloth looked somewhat like velvet, shimmering a purple sheen in the light. Inside the dark cloth was a pink blouse. As I tossed these onto the bed, Emilia produced another black garment from the bag. She handed it to me, and this one felt as heavy as I anticipated. It was a new pair of trousers.

I didn't know exactly what to say to Emilia's great generosity; I don't think I could have expressed to her just how grateful I was to have clean and undamaged clothes.

"A... thank you would be enough," she eventually said, reading the look on my face.

With an embarrassed half-smile I took a deep bow.

"Emilia... thank you!"

She smiled brightly, nodding rapidly afterwards.

"Well?" she whistled. "Go put them on. They're no good if they don't fit!"

It took me only a few minutes to change. I emerged from behind the screen looking like a million silver coins, or so I thought to myself. Anything looked like a million silver coins after what I was having to wear. The trousers fit a little snugly, but they were easy to move in — fitting for my active lifestyle. The blouse was loose and airy like my last one, and I could tie it off anywhere and make it fit however I wanted. The best and worst part was the coat that brought it all together. I wasn't much for the new look in sorcerers, the "black longcoat." I thought it looked a little sinister, though in retrospect that's the effect that a mantle tends to have as well. The coat was definitely not cheap in its working and every seam was tight as could be hoped for. I was no seamstress, but I could tell these were quality clothes.

Definitely not cheap.

"Wow," Emilia cooed as she took a few steps around me, observing my new dress from each angle. "You look so cool! Like you could take on all the forces of evil right now!"

"Errhe," I chittered, somewhat backing away from Emilia. I knew that starry glaze in her eyes; she was idolizing again. Her moodswings were scary, be they negative or positive ones. There was no middle ground with her, just extremes.

"Now," I protested with merit, "I'm just one sorceress... a great one! But... all the forces of evil... that's a lot of nastiness to take on at once..."

"Hmm," Emilia considered. "Yes, you're right."

_Whew. She does have some sense in her._

"But! What if you had the _Morningstar of Justice_ at your side?"

_Uh?_

"Morningstar of...? I don't—"

"No, no," Emilia sighed as she shook her head. "It's okay. We all need a little help sometimes in life, personally or publically—"

_Or mentally..._

"—BUT I have _no doubt_ that, with our powers of friendship and truth combined, we can forge an Alliance of Justice that is sure to be unbeatable! All the fires of Hell and Her Forces can only temper our bonds to immortality!"

"Emilia! Shush, you're gonna wake up the whole inn!"

Emilia gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Her sense of restraint suddenly returned when it was already too late. "Ack! Oops, sorry—"

I slapped my hands to my face. "Just cut down on the almighty speeches, alright? Grandstanding... gets on my nerves." Eye twitch.

_Thud_.

"Zzz..."

_Huh?_

She fell asleep on me, out like a light. I hesitated for a moment, thinking that the impact of stopping her so suddenly while on the adrenaline rush that Emilia gets into while extoling the virtues of capital-J Justice had killed her. But I could hear her breathe, and I sighed in relief. With a little trouble, I managed to get the princess into her bed, but I didn't tuck her in so much as throw the covers haphazardly on her still form. I fell back onto my own bed, the haze of drowsiness grasping at my eyes. I figured I could manage to cast one more spell before my brain finally gave up for the night, so I focused on the small orb of light that hung in the middle of the room. I pointed a stiff finger at it and concentrated.

The small orb shook like a soap bubble in the wind. Then, much like a bubble, it came apart in hundreds of tiny droplets that faded into the air. Enveloped by the calming darkness of the quiet room, I exhaled a deep breath and, for once, relaxed.

* * *

I felt confident as I strode into the room with my new clothes. Kari in particular seemed taken by my new outfit; he looked particularly pensive, which was not a habit of his. He looked clean, though... and handsome. But then the thought that we were related rose back into my mind and I pushed the sentiment away.

_Eww. No. Bad. Bad thought!_

"What's wrong with your face?" Judas grated. A mug of coffee, probably black and harsh as his tone, fit into his hands as though it were molded to them. His metallic hair hung straight as though he had groomed it with a steel comb. It looked... bad. But I figured it would eventually settle into its original shape like all hair does and it would look as I always remember it before that.

_It's not like you have so many options with hair that is, literally, wiry._

"So," I murmured, ignoring Judas' initial comment. "Where are we off to next?"

"Not sure," Judas shrugged. "Phil is thinking about taking his family to refuge in Zefielia."

The idea hit me like an ice cube down the back.

"Wuh-why would we go there?"

Judas looked not at all amused nor surprised by the sudden uneveness in my tone. "Well... because Zefielia is reputed to be the safest country in the world. Unlike Saillune... it has a stable government. And effective security."

I couldn't argue with those points. But I had a certain reason — scratch that — _reasons_ to not want to go home so soon. First of all, I told my brother that I wouldn't be coming back. _Forever_. I think his exact words were, _"Whatever Sis. I'll see you later."_ If I let him see me, I'll never hear the end of it. Secondly, there's the wrath of my parents to face. And third... well, there's the matter of the stolen/destroyed mantle/sword.

"Isn't there... an alternative?"

I saw Judas' eyes roll. "What's your problem with Zefielia?"

"I don't have a problem with Zefielia!" I stuttered defensively. "It's my home, actually. It's just that I didn't exactly, well, leave it in good graces."

To say that was an understatement. Throughout Zefielia's history, one of the things it was most proud of was the fact that no ne'er do well ever left the country alive or successful. I am the sole exception to that long legacy.

What happened was a long story that could be interpreted one of many different ways. But let's just say that my judgment back then wasn't the keenest knife in the drawer, and I was young.

I noticed then that Kari was still staring at me.

"Here's looking at you, kid?" I asked.

"Rina..." he slurred. "... Your fly is open."

I don't remember which I did first — zip up my pants or punch Kari in the forehead.


	20. Chapter XIX: A Moment's Rest

Our trip was delayed by a sudden thunderstorm that rolled in from the south.

The general mood in the tavern was irritable. If there was something this village did not need, it was the inconvenience of bad weather to make a messy situation worse. There was a ton of cleanup left to do as it was. Fortunately, it seemed as though everyone made it out of the abbey alive. No one got sliced up by the rogue sword either, which is more than I can say for the unfortunate cow that _was_ in the path of the whirling blade of death.

_At least it gave us an excuse to request steak for dinner._

It's perhaps a good thing that our trip was delayed, because there still seemed to be some controversy as to what was going to be done about our dilemma.

The sound of a pair of hands slamming a table and rattling its contents silenced the murmur of the inn.

"No, Your Highness! I beg of you—" It was the mayor speaking. Turning my head, I shifted so that I could lean against the door frame and watch the going-ons without straying too far from the refreshing breeze that was presently blowing in thanks to the cool rain.

"—You must not leave us. Please! Consider for a moment what will happen with your absence..."

I glanced aside to the great hulk of a man sitting across the table from the mayor, his arms folded tightly over his broad chest. Gone were his bloodied white linens; he wore a more common apparel, and it seemed like he had trimmed his great beard as well. It was only because I knew better that I could tell that it was King Philionel the Third sitting there and not a miller or lumberjack. The rest of the family was nowhere in my line of sight.

_If I recall correctly, they were helping with the cleanup at the abbey. I'm sure they can handle a little rain..._

The tavern was filled with displaced villagers huddling from the rain and warming up with the inn's stew, which it seemed to be renowned for. The dense pack of people is why I was standing apart from the group in general. I get antsy in crowds, you see.

"—and that could cause as much, if not _more_ strife than if you were to go back and reclaim the throne!"

Phil angled his head and shut those narrow eyes. He fell into a trance of deep thought, from the looks of things, and I waited to see what his response would be.

The mayor seemed deeply concerned about the power vacuum that would appear with the absence of the Royal Family. The family had numerous peripheral relatives who were doubtlessly eager to get their shot at the throne. Each house had its own followers, I'm sure, and the last thing Saillune needed was a civil war to add to its sorrows. The only problem there was with returning was... _Dragomir_.

Despite all his power and resources as the high priest, it was Dragomir's charisma that made him the most dangerous. History is littered with the names of rulers and leaders that didn't get far as either because they didn't have the faith of their followers.

I jumped a bit as a very cold, damp hand clapped my shoulder from behind.

"Hey Rina," came Kari's easygoing voice. "What's going on? There're a lot of people here, but everyone's quiet..."

"... You're soaked," I muttered as I glanced back and looked him over. I took care not to get wet myself. I didn't want my new clothes getting all mildewy, did I? "Er, the mayor and the king are talking." I lowered my voice before proceeding, leaning a little further in towards Kari. "—He wants them to go back to the capital and reclaim the city."

"Who?"

"... The Royal Family, Kari."

"But... isn't that dangerous? Didn't we just escape from the city?"

When he put it that way, I could understand Kari's confusion wholeheartedly. I didn't particularly relish the idea of going back to Saillune City intent on a face-to-face confrontation with Dragomir and the army of brainwashed mooks he'd likely built up.

"Yeah, but... it's complicated." I sighed. "'Justice' has been kind of a big deal in Saillune ever since the last age. Through diplomatic missions and a ton of treaties, Saillune has attempted to make gains in peaceful relations between kingdoms and countries for the advancement of all peoples. Of course, not all of the nations involved have been as forthcoming—some say _naive_—as Saillune." I shrugged, smirking ruefully. "Saillune has a policy of non-aggression. They only keep an army for self-defense and security, but that's it."

"But they attacked us first when we first arrived," Kari was quick to remind me. I gave him a shrug at that. I really was at a loss there. "I don't think that's what non-aggression means."

"I guess it's possible that there's been a change of plans under Dragomir, but I can't imagine that it would be so easy for all of Saillune to just abandon their previous ideals just because the high priest told them to. Or... maybe they're expecting trouble and that's why they've sealed up the city. On top of preventing news from getting out. Many of those same kingdoms that Saillune has established 'peaceful relations' with would probably hop on the opportunity to invade and take over Saillune in a moment of weakness."

I stared ahead blankly at something I just realized.

"That's it!"

"Huh? What's it?" Kari asked, looking around with a bewildered gaze.

"No one outside the city seems to know what happened. For the most part, the king still seems to have the loyalty of the people in the outlying villages. I haven't seen any anomosity towards them here, have you?"

Kari shook his head.

"Yeah, so. I think it's doubtful that the soldiers will shoot at the king or the family on sight. And even if they do, we'll be there to protect them. I'm thinking that maybe this situation is not all that _unwinnable_ anymore."

I grew giddy at the prospect. On a confidence high, I turned in towards the building and waded into the crowded tavern.

"Hey, Phil!" I called out to the king, waving a hand high over my head just so I could be seen. Being short sure does suck some days. Between two shoulders I saw him look my way.

"Yes, Miss Rina?"

At once the murmuring began. I felt my confidence waver a little bit, but I pressed on. At the very least, the people that were in my way cleared out hastily, giving me a smooth path to the table at which the king and mayor sat at.

"I've been listening in," I started, "and I think you ought to consider what the mayor says. Go back to the capital."

The king raised his hands in exasperation. "You, too, Miss Rina?" he bellowed. "Have you all been gripped by madness?"

I shook my head. "No, no. Who knows about your 'crimes'?" I asked, making sure to put emphasis on _crimes_ being a colloquial usage.

The king hummed deeply and shook his head. "Only the council and a few nobles were privy to the spectacle with Dragomir and his caged Mazoku. But I'm sure word has gotten out through rumors and the like."

I thought aloud. "Yeah... Saillune was pretty silent for the most part. Martial law does that. But you're _the king_. You must have _some_ people still loyal to you."

Phil again lowered his head to consider. The mayor was giving me leery looks while he leaned away from our conversation and received whispers from one of his assistants. I tried not to pay attention to that and instead focused on the king.

"Indeed!" he boomed. "If I return, there is a chance that there will be civil strife among my people. But if I leave and take asylum elsewhere, even with an ally country—"

"It will happen anyway," I finished ahead of him. Thronal disputes were ugly enough, but when the people of a nation start divvying up their loyalties, that's when it gets really nasty. At least there was a chance that we could _avert_ that altogether. "You can use your leadership to keep the people united rather than allowing them to fight amongst one another. And I'm sure that re-opening the city to commerce would also relieve a lot of the stress that's been put on the city and the villages around it."

The mayor gave me a glance, then he nodded slowly while his gaze fell back on the king.

Phil gave an enormous sigh and looked between the mayor and me.

"Very well. I will do this with the hope that the faith of the people is still with us!"

"**Da—ddy!**"

It wasn't hard to figure out who that was. Emilia, clad in a blue cloak dripping with water, flew in over the crowd with the aid of a levitation spell and latched onto Phil's shoulders affectionately.

"Justice will always win out in the end!" she added loudly, apparently having caught the tail end of our discussion.

"Yes. That is right!" he shouted even louder than she had. "Our people's love of justice shall see us through this tribulation!"

One person in the crowd began to clap. That one person infected those around him, and then they passed the sentiment onto those around them. Before long, there was deafening applause there in the tavern.

I looked around, incredulous at what I was seeing. I sighed and placed a hand to my forehead.

_Maybe this kind of naive idealism _will_ be our saving grace after all. Oi..._

* * *

I got tired of the crowd pretty quickly. I retreated to the inn room Emilia and I had been sharing and shut the door tightly behind myself. I leaned against it and contemplated the window and the rain drops that slapped against the pane.

After realizing I was zoning out, I shook my head and got out of that trance. I pulled my tattered satchel out from underneath my new coat and set it on the table in the room. _I finally have time,_ I thought.

Thinking about where things were going and what movements our enemy was making at this very moment was going to drive me crazy. After I swallowed my apprehension and my anxiety, I pulled the voluminous book penned by my ancestor and set it on the table beside my satchel. The cover was plain, leather and lettered in red and gold as though by a paintbrush. I brushed my hand against it, and by chance my thumb brushed over the chilly golden lock. Under my touch, it came apart with a little _click_.

I about jumped back. After I was sure the book wasn't going to come alive, grow teeth and bite my head off, I took another gulp and flipped the cover away.

Right there on the cover page were these words:

Following herein is the record

of the journeys, discoveries,

trials and triumphs

of the fabulous, magnificent,

great sorcress supreme

LINA INVERSE

"... Holy crap, Lina. No room for modesty, was there?"

I looked up and waited in my dim room, anticipating the old sorceress' voice to come through scoldingly. Or haughtily, perhaps. But all there was was the pattering of raindrops on my windowsill.

I frowned and leaned back over the table. I turned the page.

* * *

"Rina! Are you in there?"

I paid the voice no heed as I squinted at the rows of runes lining the full breadth of the pages before me. It was some slow reading, and not altogether sensical.

_It's a book of magic, Rina. Of course it's going to be written in runes of half-truths and riddles._

"Rina!" came the voice again. This time, I paid enough attention to it to realize that it was Kari that was knocking at my door and calling my name.

I turned a half-irritated glance over my shoulder, losing the streak I had going for the past...

_... Oh wow. It's pitch black outside._

Several hours, at least.

"Are you okay in there? Emilia said you were up here, and you didn't show up for dinner, and that is really weird for you. Hey, are you in there?"

"Yes, Kari! But I'm in the middle of something!"

Silence. Maybe he just walked away, but the ease with which he gave that up was unlikely, at least in my mind. Kari was stubborn, and not always because he meant to be.

"Kari?" I called out towards the door, taking a little of the edge off my tone.

"Have you eaten?" he replied. "I brought you some food..."

_!_

My stomach burned at the mention of food. Reluctantly, I put down the grimoire and got up. I opened the door and peeked out through the crack. Call it a reflex, being that cautious, but you would be, too, if you'd been through the things I'd been through in just the last couple of weeks there.

Kari greeted me with a broad smile, easy and yet almost expecting a knock to the face. Once I saw that it was him and only him, I stepped back and drew the door the rest of the way. Kari turned sideways and shuffled in, a large tray supported by his right hand stacked high with various food items—fresh baked rolls, sliced turnips, and hunks of steak which I suspect might have been that unfortunate cow I mentioned earlier. Kari looked to the table and saw the book and my notes.

"Hey, what have you been doing?"

I shut the door and moved to relieve Kari of that tray, taking it to the bed instead of the table.

"Studying. Or trying to, anyway. That book is a treasure trove of old magical lore! What I can understand, anyway."

"Oh, it is?"

I stared at Kari. Had he been listening?

"Ye—s? I don't think words can do justice to just how badly the Sorcerers' Guild wants that book. Lina Inverse was one of the greatest sorceresses of the last age. Her reputation is pretty spotty, yeah... but there's no denying that she knew her stuff. I'm just kind of... stunned."

Kari shifts his gaze a little, waiting for me to continue. "By what?" he said, edging me on after neither of us said anything for a moment.

"By... the fact that it exists? The Grimoire is at about the Clair Bible's level of mythicalness; few people believed it really existed. I thought the Guild was chasing ghosts myself."

"Oh," he crooned in a way that almost convinced me that he understood. "How much of it have you read?"

"Well... I haven't gotten far into it yet. It's written in a way that would be slow and difficult to understand. She obviously put it together in such a way that only someone who already knew enough about sorcery would be able to understand. A lot of the things I've read in there are things I've already learned from my days training at the academy. They include Lina's observations and theories, too. I thought it might have something in there about that sword, since the two of them were hidden away together and everything."

"Oh," said Kari, sounding like he got it again but managing to look completely clueless otherwise.

I took a large bite out of a loaf of bread and tried to slow my mind down. Seeing how Kari didn't say anything during that whole time, I spoke up again.

"So I guess we're going _right back_ to Saillune, huh."

Kari gave a shrug in response.

"You should be getting some sleep, Kari. We all got licked pretty hard back there."

"I'm okay," he said with a vacant smile. "Emilia already took care of my bruises."

I rounded my lips. "Oh. Alright. Still! You should be sleeping."

I should have been, too, but Kari didn't have to know, did he?

"Yeah. I will. I just had to check up on you."

I frowned at Kari. "I'm not a little kid, Kari. I can look after myself! I mean... we're probably gonna be here for a few days, anyway. The way it rained today, I doubt the roads are going to be fit for traveling any time soon."

"Actually, Phil wants to leave first thing in the morning."

I almost choked on my bread. "Hunh? What?"

"Yeah." Kari cradled his chin in a hand, striking a thoughtful pose. "I think they're actually loading up a wagon right now."

_Oh great,_ I thought to myself. "For being so reluctant to head back at first, Phil is sure in a hurry now, isn't he?"

Kari simply nodded. "So, what are we going to do, Rina?"

I took a breath. I suppose if ever I had a moment to branch off, it would be now. I could slip away under the cover of darkness and no one would know what became of me. At least until they heard news of my exploits on down the line. But on top of how Dragomir humiliated me and his willingness to risk unleashing the Demon King of the North on the world so that he could wage his holy war, was I going to stand by and let him have his way?

_Hell no._

I smiled to Kari, maybe sharing the same sentiment with him without realizing it.

"We're going to march right in alongside the king and oust that overzealous usurper once and for all."

* * *

Afterword: Holy crap, an update! I know. This is the fic that will not die in my mind. My old readership has probably moved on and that leaves me feeling somewhat bitter, as well as reluctant to finish this story feeling that I have already failed them. But no more! I will finish this fanfic if it kills me!


End file.
